


Through Fire and Ice

by Ares1



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: AU based on Fundy's Apocalypse difficulty, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Blood and Injury, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Love Triangles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Rivalry, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:01:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28798767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ares1/pseuds/Ares1
Summary: When the world was thrown out of whack... You found yourself in the arms of a mysterious man wearing a boar skull as a mask. When the snow wouldn't stop, you sunk deeper into those arms.~~~~Based on Fundy's apocalypse difficulty, though I have taken some creative liberties with this. This is a whole new story and it doesn't have any affiliation with the DreamSMP.
Relationships: Dream x Reader - Relationship, Dream/Reader, Technoblade/Reader
Comments: 91
Kudos: 572





	1. Chapter 1

They had caused this… An ice age the likes no one had ever seen before. A world thrown out of whack… The party of four, Philza, Technoblade, Tommy, and Tubbo had slain the dragon in the end realm. The final blow dealt to the neck of the dragon; had brought on a chill they had never felt before. Though they didn’t truly recognize what had happened until they got back to the overworld. Tommy and Tubbo had jumped through the portal first. Technoblade had stayed back looking toward his friend Phil.

Every breath they took could be seen due to the cold, but Phil was not bothered too much by it. He had read many scriptures leading up to this moment. As he excitedly looked out into the void, his hands on his hips. The pink haired man walked to Phil’s side. Phil’s eyes shined as he looked over at Techno, a smile gracing his lips. 

“Hey mate.” Phil greeted Technoblade, “We did it!” Philza beamed putting his hand out as if to grasp onto something that just wasn’t there. “Do you know what lies just beyond that void?” Techno cocked his head to the side. 

“Uuuuuuhhhh” Techno said in a monotone voice, thinking but nothing came to him. “I have absolutely no clue.” Techno shrugged his shoulders crossing his arms, hoping that would help warm him up somehow. 

“There are cities out there, Techno,” Philza mused, “Filled with exceedingly rare items, just ripe for the taking!”

“Heh?” Techno looked through the pig skull he wore as a mask, at Phil bewildered looking out into the void. There was nothing but an inky blackness, the thought of it made his head spin. “Who do you think made those cities? Are they still there? Do you think they’ll let us just run off with their items?” Philza just shook his head.

“The scriptures read, that these cities are abandoned, I’m almost certain of it.” Philza pulled out a scroll from his robes, unraveling it to read it. “They do have some very… interesting defenses, so do be careful.” Phil added after a moment of reading.

“Uh huh…” Techno looked over the edge slightly leaning over it kicking a rock with his shoe into the void. “There’s just one flaw to your plan…” Techno looked back to Phil, “How do you plan to get over there?” Phil donned a playful smirk, handing Techno building materials. 

“How ‘bout a race old friend?” Phil had challenged, watching the smile widen on Techno’s face. 

“Perhaps…” Techno was already getting into position to start the race and they once they both were ready, they started building out toward the void, starting their search for the valuables the scriptures had promised them. 

-

In the overworld, Tommy and Tubbo were chattering talking about how cool that fight with the dragon was. Tommy was boasting about how cool he was. 

“I am massive Tubbo, that dragon has never seen the likes of me before!” Tommy proclaimed jerked a thumb toward his chest. Tubbo gave a confused look tilting his head, his hand coming up in a questioning gesture.

“Didn’t Techno have to help get a hoard of endermen off of you?” Tubbo innocently inquired, causing Tommy to bust up in nervous laughter. 

“Listen- Tub-Tubbo,” Tommy feigned his confidence, “It’s all a part of the plan!” Tommy gave a wide smile to his best friend, “I had to help get them off Philza, Big Man.” Tubbo still looked confused as they walked up the stairs to exit the stronghold.

“Mmmm, but weren’t you screaming for both Phil and Techno to help you?” Tubbo asked, and he was immediately hushed by tommy.

“Listen, that was just me stroking Technoblades ego, it’s very fragile you know!” Tommy declared and he finally had a sigh of relief when Tubbo shrugged and didn’t press further on the subject. “You were great too big man!” Tommy nudged Tubbo in the arm. “It wasn’t easy breaking those crystals.” Tubbo nodded in response but started rubbing down his arms trying to get warm, his breath coming out in puffs of steam. 

“Aren’t we in a desert?” Tubbo asked his teeth started to chatter. As they got closer to the surface, the colder it got. Tommy rubbed his hands together trying to use his breath to warm up his fingers. Tommy nodded, just as confused as Tubbo.

When they had reached the entrance of the stronghold and they were at the surface and their eyes widened at the snowy sight before them.

“Snow!” Tubbo squealed out happily, there wasn’t too much snow sticking to the sandy ground, but they could definitely start to catch the snowflakes on their tongues. The two boys ran forward laughing and playing in the ever-growing winter wonderland.

-

You found yourself sitting below a tree reading your book in the shade, it was a normal day. The day was warm, and you found yourself enjoying the occasional breeze that would roll through. You often came to this spot to read whatever book took your fancy, sighing contentedly you let your fingers stroke over the pages of the book. Opening the book to where your bookmark was, you started reading.  
The rustle of the leaves in the tree calmed you as the branches swayed with the wind. You could even hear distant clucking from a nearby chicken. Stretching out in the shade of your tree, your eyes scanned over the words of your book. There was no other place you would rather be right now.  
You had lost track of time, and the thing that was able to knock you out of your trance was a sound… You didn’t know how to describe it, but the sound came from a distant land it seemed. It was… discomforting. Something was happening and you didn’t know exactly what. Looking around everything seemed normal. You were in the forest, with no one around. It sounded extremely far off… But you didn’t know if it was a good sound or not. Nothing else happened after that so you shrug it off.

Before too long, you had forgotten about the sound, putting your nose right back into that book again. But this time around twenty minutes later, you had gotten cold, and that was what tore you away from the book. Looking around once more you were able to catch the first few snowflakes to fall to the ground. Unbeknownst to you a thick fog had rolled in around you as well.

“Wha-?” You whispered to yourself quietly. You slowly got up feeling your bones give off a crack sound from the movement. Stretching you put your book in your book bag and left in the direction of your home. You were a little annoyed being that you were almost done with your book, but it was time that you got a move on with your day at this point. You had to get home and get a fire started in your cottage so that you wouldn’t be cold. 

It was weird how fast the chill had crept up on the day in summer, and you had a worrying thought about the sound that you heard from the distance. Maybe the two had correlated… But you couldn’t be too sure, you had never heard that noise before.

The fog rolled in heavily as minutes passed by and you couldn’t see a foot past your face. This was worrying… One wrong turn and you would be heading the opposite direction from your house. That thought terrified you. Considering the closest village was miles away from you, and that was if you were heading in the right direction. You hadn’t scouted the other directions yet. You were still new to the area…

Feeling a twinge of annoyance at your now runny nose, you stopped and looked around hoping there was something that you could identify. Nothing but the nearby trees caught your attention in the haze. The snowflakes seemingly got much larger in the passing minutes and they had no trouble sticking to the ground. You decided to just keep going. You had to keep moving so you wouldn’t freeze. 

You had willed yourself to go just a bit more through what was becoming a fully-fledged snowstorm. Fingers and toes were starting to ache. Had you known that it was going to snow today, you wouldn’t have opted to wear summer clothing, the shorts and tank top were not helping in any case. One thing was for sure, you were going to find somewhere to get out of this snowstorm, be it your own cottage or someone else’s, you were going to get there.

-

Philza and Techno were back at the end portal their inventories filled to the brim with treasures. Winglike contraptions strapped to their backs, made it possible for them to fly, or at least glide through the air. This was the main item Philza had been looking for, and Techno was glad to be here for the expedition. Techno had even let out a high pitch gasp in delight when they had found a second, as Phil called it, Elytra for Techno.

“Aye mate,” Philza tapped Techno on the shoulder, “Ya think we should take the egg?” He pointed to the egg on top of the bedrock pillar. 

“Does it count as an orphan?” Techno grinned amused as Phil busted up laughing. 

“I suppose so,” Phil chuckled as he quickly built up to the egg, careful not to fall into the portal below. 

“This is going to be the ultimate orphan trophy,” Techno mused as he watched Phil reach out to take the egg. But before Phil could get a finger on the egg… It was gone.

Phil let out a very confused and loud “What!?” before looking around for the egg further, it had teleported just few feet away, untouched. Techno laughed at Phil who climbed down from the pillar. 

“You just got denied!” Techno taunted, wafting away some stray hair from his face. Phil puffed out a sigh and pulled out his scrolls to see if he had missed anything about the egg. Techno looked over the man’s shoulder. He couldn’t read anything on the scroll, that was Philza’s department… Even so… That wasn’t the language villagers usually spoke.

“Mmmm, seems like we can’t interact with it ourselves mate.” Philza’s hand covered his mouth in thought. “I have a plan,” Philza grabbed his bag and walked over to the egg. “Techno, dig out just enough for the egg to fall into the bag.” 

“Alright.” Grabbing his pickaxe, he dug out just enough of the end stone for the egg to topple over safely into Philza’s bag.

“There we go!” Philza beamed holding the bag up. The top of the egg could barely be seen. He closed up the bag and strapped it over his shoulder. “Let’s get back to the boys, I’m tired of this chill in the air.”

“We gotta pack extra clothes when we come back for the other cities,” Techno mused pulling his blue cloak around him to help stave off the chill. Phil grunted in agreement and he made his way back to the portal. With one step into the portal, he was gone. 

Techno lingered for a moment, his eyes searching the darkness. Had the dragon killed the inhabitants of the cities? Or… Was it something else? This realm was lonely, he wasn’t sure he wanted to come back here. The deafening silence was eerie. Shaking his head, he jumped through the portal. His eyes closed; he felt his stomach turn into knots. His body flew out of the other side of the portal and he orientated himself to land on his feet, though he kneeled when he felt his feet touch the floor to keep his balance. 

“Everything good mate?” Phil asked extending his hand to Techno, who took it nodding his thanks. “Good.” Making sure they had everything, they opt to go up the stairs. At a certain point they could hear the boys outside playing and laughing. 

“Am I missing something here? Why is it cold in the middle of the desert?” Techno asked with an edge to his voice. Something definitely wasn’t right. Phil shrugged looking on with an equally worried expression. The entrance they had dug had flurries of snow covering the first few steps. 

“It’s the middle of summer at that…” Phil hurried his step, when the two men had gotten to the surface they were met with the sight of Tommy and Tubbo having a snowball fight. The boys peered over at them excitedly. They both ran up to Phil and Techno sizing up their new gear.

“So that’s what you’ve been up to,” Tommy pouted his eyes wandering over the elytras on Phil and Techno’s backs. “Why didn’t take us,” Tommy whined motioning to himself and Tubbo. “I want… Whatever that thing is.” 

“Tommy, I hear you, but I really don’t think it’s the time for that,” Phil put his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, as he looked around the snowy area. “We need to get back home.” Tommy scoffed but before he could retort Techno chimed in.

“We don’t want to hear it Tommy, something is going on and we need to figure out what.” Techno looked toward Phil. Ignoring Tommy muttering to himself about how it was unfair that they got all the cool loot, and he didn’t. “We need to talk to the others and make a plan of action if this storm doesn’t stop,” Phil nodded, “I’m going to get some supplies, take them home and call the others for a meetin’.” The plan was set, and everyone headed off on their journeys.

~~

Techno was in a bit of a bind. He was stuck in fog, and there were strays shooting at him from all directions. He didn’t know where an arrow would come from next. Some even got close enough to hit him using melee. Their ability to slow their enemies was annoying but Techno made quick work of them for the most part. He knew he was on the right path to his cottage.

An agonized scream echoed out, making Techno’s head snap up, his heart dropped, and he trudged further. His steps taking their sweet time as he was still affected with slowness. He listened for anything but didn’t hear another noise other than the crunching snow under his feet, but he soon found red droplets in the snow. Someone out here was injured… Following the trail of blood, he eventually found a body in the snow. 

You were riddled in arrows, breathing shallowly, lying face down in the snow. Unfastening his cloak, he wrapped you in the clothing and lifted your body with ease. You made some sounds of protest, which caused him to believe you were awake. 

“Stay with me okay?” His deep voice called to you, causing your eyes to flutter open and meet his. You were having trouble keeping focus. Your eyes skimming over the mask he wore on his face. Fear courses through you. “You will be okay.” He reassures you; he can see your fear. He doesn’t blame you; it would be off-putting to be hurt, and to suddenly be carried by a man you didn’t know who was wearing a boar skull as a mask. You let out a little sigh, your body going limp in his arms. 

Techno looked around, this had brought him off course, but he kept his compass on him, pointing to a lodestone he had in his house. Reading the compass, he trudges on, with you in his arms, still dodging arrows. It wasn’t too long of a walk before he suddenly had the cottage in his view, and he kicks the door open. Hurriedly he sets you down onto the floor next to the fireplace. Quickly lighting a fire, he searches his chests for any and all health potions.

He was going to have to pull all those arrows out of you, one by one. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He peeled the bloody cloak off your body, examining your wounds. He sighed in relief. Your wounds could be easily healed with his potions. He counted three arrows stuck in your legs in all directions and two in your back. Your skin was frostbitten, and your lips were blue. 

Clipping the arrows shorter he made quick work, of the ones in your back. If they had hit any deeper, he would have been worried. Even so, your blood started to pool on his cloak that lie beneath you. Splashing a health potion on your back closed the wounds but they left definite scars. Now he was onto the arrows in your legs. He tended to the wounds in your legs just as he did with the ones in your back.

Looking down at his handy work, blood all over his hands, he pushed back thoughts, the voices that liked to plague his mind coming back for a split second. Hands shaking, he got up to wash his hands, only to find that the pipes had been frozen. With an irritated sigh he grabbed a bucket and started filling the cauldron above his fire with snow. 

You were caked in blood and he wanted to have a bath ready for you when you woke up, he didn’t like seeing blood smeared on anyone, not even himself, as it just made the voices in his head stronger. He had tended to Tommy like this once upon a time when Tommy had overestimated himself and he fell from a cliff. Back then he didn’t have control over the voices like he did now. The memory made him shudder.

Sighing he searched his fridge; you both were going to be here for a while, and you were going to need to regain your strength. He had a good supply of potatoes, steak and carrots, that could keep the two of you going for a few days. To Techno, you didn’t seem like a fighter, so he wasn’t too worried you were going to stab him in the back but who knew, maybe he was wrong. If he was… Then he would be ready.

Either way, the both of you had time to get to know each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! How's it going? I'm glad you're here! I forgot to mention that, this story is about the persona of Technoblade and the others that I portray here. This isn't about the content creators themselves. I would be happy to delete this if Techno expressed any discomfort about this fic. Anyway, I hope you are having a good day, and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the chapters that have yet to come! :D

Phil stood at the head of a long dining room table in the middle of his house, Tommy, Tubbo, Fundy and Ranboo stood to the right of the table while Wilbur, Dream, Sapnap, and George stood across from them on the other side. Phil eyed them all, before clearing his throat. 

“Techno still hasn’t come back,” Phil spoke grimly, “Whether or not there is an end to the storm, I’m going out there for him, if he’s not back by tomorrow.” Silence hung in the air. Ranboo gripped on to the chair in front of him. He had taken a liking to Techno. At times Phil could understand why, they were so similar in so many aspects.

“I’ll go with you,” Ranboo spoke up with a waver in his voice. Phil gave him a soft smile and shook his head. Ranboos green and red eyes flicked up to Phils for a split second questioning him, before he hastily looked away. Phil heard a soft enderman sound escape from Ranboo. He was taking the news about Techno hard.

“Ranboo, I need you here,” Phil said frankly, “Techno can take care of himself. The man has the sheer willpower to keep living. I am going alone just in case the inevitable has happened and because I can cover more ground,” Phil motioned to the wings of the elytra. “This is where the rest of you come in…” Phil leaned forward his hands on the table. “I don’t think that this is a regular snowstorm.” His eyes flicked to Dream who had his arms crossed and his face covered by his mask.

“Do you think it will ever stop?” George asked from behind Dream. Phil shook his head his eyes lowering to the pattern of wood on the dining room table.

“Maybe?” Phil shrugged, but that was the coldest chill that Phil had ever felt. Not even the tundra felt that cold to him. “But I can’t ignore the fact that when the dragon was slain this started happening… In the middle of summer.”

“Alright,” Dream spoke up. “You have us here, what would you have us do?” Phil thought about it for a second, his nails digging into the wood of the table.

“We may have to go underground boys.” Phil straightened himself up, “I can build something to keep us warm underground, but first I have to find Techno.” Phil’s eyes flicked to each person in the room. “Ranboo, Tommy, and Tubbo, you will need to start a mine one big enough to hold as many people as we can,” Phil looked between Wilbur and Fundy, “I need you two to find and bring as much livestock, saplings, and seeds back to the mine” Both Wilbur and Fundy nodded. “Dream, Sapnap, and George are the rescue team for anyone out there.”

“I can ask Antfrost, to scavenge around, maybe BBH will help him with that as well.” Sapnap offered leaning on the table toward Phil. Phil nodded.

“We will need all hands on deck for this one boys,” Phil straightened up. “I would get started immediately. Make sure to stay warm.” With that the group nodded and scattered to do their tasks. Ranboo stayed back, his eyes trained on the floor.

“What if Techno is gone?” He whispers. “I don’t want to forget him…” Phil’s heart ached for Ranboo. 

“He’s not, I promise Ranboo.” Phil was unsure, but it had been hours since they had departed from the desert. He had to keep Ranboo stable. “Techno and I have lived in tundra’s before, if anyone knows how to survive this mess it’s him.”

“But this isn’t like any tundra I’ve seen Phil.” Ranboo clutched his memory book to his chest. His fingers twitching over the cover. “What if you get hurt out there too? Then you both won’t be here.” This caused Phil to put his hand on Ranboo’s shoulder.

“I know the risks, Techno did too when he separated from us. I will find him Ranboo, and I will bring him back. That is a promise.” Ranboo kept his eyes to the ground.

“You… Promise… Okay,” Ranboo let out a sigh. “Just know, if you don’t come back, I’m going after you too.” Phil thought about this for a second.

“Alright… But I sure as hell am not leaving Kristin.” Phil squeezed Ranboo’s shoulder slightly. “I am coming back. I have to.” Ranboo nodded. 

“I believe you Phil.” He finally said after a second. “I’m going to go help the others with the mine now. You should rest up for tomorrow.” Ranboo waved over his shoulder and left to go find the others, leaving Phil alone with his thoughts. 

-

You were still unconscious, Techno had wrapped you up in several blankets, because the cold was starting to get to him even with his fireplace on full blast, he couldn’t imagine how you felt. He thought you would have woken up by now, and it was starting to worry him that you weren’t waking up. He was lost in his thoughts. Resting an arm up on the mantle he watched the flames dance around the boiling cauldron of water. He had filled his bathtub for you a while ago and he was worried it would get cold at this rate.

The rustle of the blankets could be heard, and he turned to look over his shoulder at you. You had balled up on your side. The blanket exposing your back which was still caked in blood. Your body was shaking, and he could see your eyes weakly open. He let out a sigh of relief and he turned to you, kneeling to cover your exposed back with the blankets. His fingers lightly grazed your back, touching some of the blood.

‘Slaughter.’

‘Kill her.’

Techno flinched, withdrawing his hand from you quickly. Swallowing down the lump in his throat he made eye contact with you. 

“Who are you?” You managed to get out. When you spoke it invoked a coughing fit that made you dizzy. When you had stopped coughing you couldn’t stop shaking.

“Technoblade,” He replied in his monotone voice acting indifferent to the fact that even the smell of your blood was causing the voices to come back. “Just Techno if you live.” You frown, not knowing whether he was joking or not.

“Y/N” You coughed into the blanket; your lungs started burning. 

“Do you think you can manage a bath?” Techno asked. You nodded sitting yourself up. Your muscles started aching and you winced. Techno watched your every movement, you were definitely swaying a bit, you could feel it, and the movement made you dizzier and dizzier with each moment passing by.

“I just need a moment.” You refused to ask him for help. You shut your eyes tight, hoping that would help your dizziness. Your nose was stuffed, and you had to rely on breathing through your mouth. You started to push yourself up off the ground. The blankets falling off your body, causing a shiver to run down your spine at the cold air rushing to your body. The muscles in your legs screamed at you to stop but you kept pushing through. Technoblade hovering over you as a safety net. You only got to two steps before you started falling forward. Techno dove for you wrapping his arm around your waist and pressing you to his chest.

“You’re not getting anywhere on your own.” Techno towered over you. Watching you pout your lips out in determination. He could tell you were agreeing with him. His grip tightened on you, and he carried you to the bathroom with ease.

‘Look how pretty the blood looks on her skin.’

‘More.’

He had to stop himself from shaking, this was proving harder to deal with than he thought. 

‘You know you wanna.’

The voices taunted him, and he wasn’t sure if you could see it in him. He let you grab a hold on the tub for stability. 

“Call if you need anything.” Techno was desperate to leave the room. You gave a little nod and with that he had strode out and shut the door behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief happy to be away from you. It wasn’t you but it was the situation you were in. He damned himself for not being able to control the voices.

“I’m so weak.” He spat out, his nose wrinkling in disgust at himself. The urge to stab something was still strong and he made a move to the food he had prepared ahead of time to cook. 

~~

The water around you had turned to a rust color by the end of your bath, the heat was soothing, especially in the cold but it wasn’t long before the water started to run cold on you. Leaving you shaking in the water once more. You pushed up from the bathtub. Looking around, you find a towel sitting there with a change of clothes- his clothes. You sat on the edge of the bathtub drying yourself off, afraid you were going to fall. That would be awkward for both parties if you lost your strength again when you weren’t clothed. You felt your cheeks start to heat up from him catching you earlier. 

“You’re ridiculous,” You whispered while you internally screamed at yourself. You didn’t want to owe this man your life but here you were. Being in debt to someone wasn’t something you wanted to be in. You wanted to be alone, that way no one could use you. You were done with that. Or at least you thought you were. Your lungs burned and you felt another coughing fit sneak up on you. You spit up what you could in the sink. Your nose was still stuffed up, which annoyed you. The cold air rushing around your body was almost too much.

You looked down at his clothes that he set out for you and sighed. When you put the brown pair of pants on, they were loose, and you were grateful for the belt he left for you as well. The white blouse was too big but doable. Stabilizing yourself on the wall you walked out of the bathroom to see Techno cooking steak potatoes and carrots. He motioned at a chair sitting next to the fireplace and you promptly sat down eager to get as much heat as you could. Before too long Techno had a plate of food in front of you.

“How are you feeling?” He asked. Shrugging, you felt his eyes on you, he sighed and before you could stop him, he put the back of his hand on your forehead. 

“You’re burning up,” Techno said flatly, “Do you want me to waste all this effort on you just to have you die on me?” You felt a stab of guilt and shook your head. “You need to tell me these things.” 

“I’ll be out of here in a few days…” You looked him squarely in the eye. “I won’t be a drain on your resources for much longer.” The silence was deafening, and you both were left in a stare down. 

“That’s not really the issue here Y/N.” He kneeled so he was eye level with you. “Wasting resources is one thing, even in this… Whatever this is.” He motioned to the windows which showed the everlasting snowstorm. “I know you don’t want to die. So, let’s help each other out. I have places to be, places that are much safer than out there, you can stay there. I can’t get us there if you’re hiding things from me and making yourself even more sick.” You nodded averting his gaze.

Stabbing your fork into a carrot, you sighed, you couldn’t taste most of the food you were eating, because your nose was stuffed. He huffed out and stood above you. Making a move to look out the window.

“You’re acting like the snow won’t stop… Why?” Your question caused him to look over his shoulder at you. His golden eyes reaching your gaze. Before too long he was facing the window again.

“…Just have a feeling, given the circumstances.” He didn’t want to tell you the full story, at least not now. When you didn’t question further, a wave of relief washed over him. The less you knew at this point the better. Some time had passed and the both of you had eaten. His eyes move over to the ruined blood-stained cloak.

He bent down and picked up the clothing hastily throwing it out the front door onto his porch. Night had fallen over the world, the air still as the snowflakes were falling peacefully from the sky. The snow wasn’t too deep just yet, and there was still a part of him that hoped that the snow would stop. He had to wait and see if that was the case. He had only just stepped out of his house onto the covered porch for a second, and he couldn’t stand the cold. His thoughts were interrupted by your violent coughing. He turned to look at you. He had to find something to ease your sickness. He never got sick, and so he never needed to gather herbs that would help a sickness. That would be tomorrows job, going to the nearby village to see if the villagers were around to trade.

He walked into the house closing the door behind him. Grabbing the blankets off the floor, he started wrapping you in them one by one. The fire wasn’t doing too much for you it seemed. He just had to watch you. Your body shivered next to him; your hair was still wet from your bath. He felt guilty for rushing you to take a bath, no wonder you were freezing. You had leaned into his touch unconsciously. Your eyes closed just a bit before your head started bobbing forward, you were fighting sleep.

Techno sighed, picking you up and setting you on the ground closer to the fire. His bedroom was too cold to sleep in, so this was where both of you were going to sleep, until Techno figured out what to do. But there was a question looming in his mind.

What was he going to do with you?


	3. Chapter 3

Techno had watched over you from the chair by the fireplace. He could tell you were being stubborn about him taking care of you. You had the hardest time asking for something as small as a glass of water from him. You tried getting up and doing things yourself, but that seemed to make things harder on you. You were left wheezing by the end of it. Watching you get up and strain to do the most basic tasks, wasn’t something he really wanted to do. He couldn’t force you to accept his help either. 

“You know I could just… get whatever you need for you right?” Techno’s eyebrow was raised, and he had his arms crossed. His leg thrown over the other in the chair he sat in as he watched you push yourself upright. Your breathing had become more labored, and you just sat there.

“Sitting like this helps me breathe,” You tried wrapping the blankets around your shoulders to no avail. Your back was still freezing, being exposed to the cold air, not that the floor was too much better. You were fully stuffed up, you had chills, a cough, and body aches combined with the aches the healed-up arrow wounds left in your body as well. 

“Alright…” Techno directed his gaze back to the fire. He would help you when you were ready to accept his help. Your sickness was getting worse and the two of you were going to need to move soon. The resources here were not going to last and the wood around the area was getting too wet to burn. He stayed in his thoughts thinking of ways to prepare. 

He decided on using his old mine. He just had to build the room to keep the two of you safe and warm. Maybe using wood out of the old mineshafts that he had found for firewood. The two of you could hide out there until you were better or… He shook the thoughts out of his head. He wasn’t going to let you die. He sighed out his nose, his hair falling into his face. You were stubborn but you didn’t deserve to die. He was going to get you to the others safely. He was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of your cough. His eyes skim over your shivering form. 

“…” Techno hesitated slightly parting his lips, “So… Uh… If you want…” His eyes darted away from your face. “If you’re cold… We could huddle for warmth.” He suggested. The fire wasn’t doing too much, and the cold was dominating any warmth the room got, it seemed. Your eyes flicked up to his, and he didn’t expect you to give in easily to that suggestion… But you did. 

“O-kay,” You nodded. Techno got up from his chair, stirred and fed the fire and he sat down on the floor next to you. When he put his hand on the ground, he could feel the cold air rushing up from the floorboards, no wonder you couldn’t get warm. 

“…One second,” Techno got up and he went to his bedroom. Pulling his small mattress from the room he huffed it to the living room. The cold floorboards were not helping your situation, and he wished you would just tell him the things you needed. 

“I’m sorry…” Your voice came out in a rasp. “I don’t want you to think that I’m just using you,” You hid your face from him from behind your hair. Techno sighed flopping the mattress down beside you.

“There is a fine line between needing help and using someone.” Techno kneeled, his arms wrapping around your frame, he lifted you and the blankets with ease. Techno appreciated your words… There had been too many times when people had just used him for his strength, and his ability. 

“I know,” You unconsciously nuzzled into his chest feeling the heat radiating from him. Your body was still shaking but being in his arms and off the cold floor helped a lot. 

“I’m going to move us underground soon; I need you to get better.” Techno said softly as he stood there with you in his arms. He could feel you nuzzling into him. It felt… Good. Techno was touch-starved for lack of a better word. He kept his distance from people, even Phil, as much as Phil was a great friend, they didn’t usually have much contact due to Techno moving further away from the community that his friends had built. 

He heard a hum from you, and he put you down on the mattress, further bundling you up in the blankets. Standing he decided to get ready for bed himself. It was late and he needed rest for tomorrow. He took his pig mask off, nervously looking down at you. It was very rare when he took it off in front of someone other than Phil, but it was uncomfortable to sleep in. 

Letting his hair down from his ponytail, he lowered himself onto the mattress, which was big enough just to fit the both of you. As he scooted closer to you, he watched your eyes open and widen at the sight of his face.

Not knowing how to react, you hadn’t seen his full face before. His pink hair framed his face, and his golden eyes, you could tell, showed nervousness in them that you hadn’t seen from him yet. His face was angular and had some faint scars adorning his cheek and his nose. His ears were what caught your attention, you had not seen them on account of the mask. His ears were pointed downward and not shaped like human ears. Gold earings decorated them, and you wondered if he was human. He let out half of a nervous laugh his eyes darting anywhere but you. That was enough to get you out of your daze.

You fidgeted with the blanket and threw the other half over him, trying not to notice the red that dusted his cheeks. It was kind of hard not to notice when he was pressed up against you for heat though. You rolled on your side facing away from him, and when you did, he pressed his chest against your back. His legs wrapping around yours. He ran hotter than a normal human and you were appreciative of that fact.

It wasn’t too long before you were drifting off. Techno found it hard to fall asleep given the situation. Your body fit perfectly into his. He tried not thinking of that fact and instead, paid attention to your breathing. It seemed you were still having trouble breathing and even having coughing fits here and there. He counted your breaths like he was counting sheep and it wasn’t long before he himself unconsciously buried his face into your hair and fell asleep. 

~~

Techno was the first to wake up, the house was quiet and cold, and the fire burnt out. His eyes flicked over you. You were flush up against him, your face buried in his chest and your arm wrapped around him, while the other hand gripped tightly to his shirt. His hair splayed over the both of you two.

‘Pretty.’

‘Protect her.’ 

The voices echoed in his head. Well, that was a step up from the voices wanting blood, Techno thought to himself. Though he didn’t like the fact that you were bringing them out at all. 

He finally detached himself from you, managing to keep you asleep. Looking outside there seemed to be a reprieve from the falling snow. He had to take that chance to go to the village, but first he had to make you a fire. 

It didn’t take long for a fire to be made. He went through his routine, armoring up, gathering supplies. When it was all said and done, he checked on your condition. 

When you weren’t wheezing there was a rattle to your breaths, your lips were turning blue… That wasn’t good… He had to hurry. Leaving you a note by the bed, he gave one last look at you before walking to the door and closing it shut behind him. 

-

Ranboo had come to give Phil some supplies for the rescue mission for Techno. Bending down so his head wouldn’t hit the roof of the covered porch, he knocked on Phil’s door. It took a second, but he could hear the footsteps approaching the door.

“Hey mate,” Phil gave a big smile, motioning for Ranboo to come in. 

“Hey Phil,” Ranboo stood up straight once inside, thanking the fact that Phil had vaulted ceilings. “I brought you some supplies,” Ranboo held out a bag for Phil to take.

“Aw mate,” Phil took the bag, “You didn’t have to. I appreciate this.” Phil led Ranboo down the hall and into the dining room. They both took a seat at the table. “Ranboo, I have something that I want to show you.” He motioned to a canvas bag sitting on the table. 

“What is it?” Ranboo tilted his head, his eyes resting on the bag. Phil reached over and carefully pulled the flap of the bag off and revealed what was inside. An egg. Not just any egg… Ranboo didn’t have any idea what this egg was, but he couldn’t deny that he had a connection to the egg. Phil watched Ranboo with curiosity. 

“Do you have any idea what kind of egg that is?” Phil asked motioning toward the egg. Ranboo shook his head. “It’s a dragon egg.” Phil clarified for him. Ranboo’s eyes widened and he reached out to touch the egg, but before Phil could stop him… Ranboo had put a finger on the egg. Phil sat there dumbfounded. “You can touch the egg.”

“Yeah, why? Can’t you?” Ranboo asked, he could swear he could feel the tiniest bit of life in the egg pulsing to his fingertips. Philza shook his head, and he went to go touch the egg himself. Ranboo looked in amazement as the egg teleported just a few feet away from the dining room table. “I… What?” Ranboo got up and crouched down to the egg. His eyes full of curiosity. 

“Hmm…” Philza hummed in thought. “Mate I feel like you could learn a lot about yourself from this egg.” Phil crouched down beside Ranboo. “I’ll leave the egg to you, seeing as how you can touch it and all.”

With a small smile, Ranboo took the egg in his hands and held the egg to his chest. He could still faintly feel the pulse of life within the egg, and he gave Phil a grateful nod.

“I have some other items that I would love to show you in later times,” Phil stood grabbing the supply bag Ranboo had gotten for him. “I have to go before it starts snowing again.”

“Gotcha.” Ranboo stood up carefully with the egg. “Before you go, I should tell you, we started on the underground farms and people have started carving out areas for their houses. The cave is going well so far.” Philza was relieved at that. It was imperative that things go without a hitch. “We have even taken in a crowd it seems,” Ranboo added, his fingers stroking over the egg absentmindedly.

“That’s great Ranboo.” Philza nodded. “The more manpower we have the better.” The two strode to the door saying their goodbyes. Phil promising Ranboo once again that he was coming back. Phil watched Ranboo trudge through the snow toward the mine, the egg in his arms. Phil fished through his bag sifting through the supplies Ranboo had gotten for him and the supplies he gathered for himself.

With a firework in hand, Phil launched himself into the air, the wings of the elytra carrying him effortlessly. He was breathless, watching the world around him whiz by. He had to be careful though… The cold was already getting to him, the wind was harsh on his face. He should have bundled up more for this. It didn’t matter now. He just had to find Techno.

-

Techno had made it to the nearby village. His eyes scanning his surroundings. No sign of life anywhere. Not even smoke pluming out of the chimneys. He even knocked on some of the doors and got no answer. He found the Apothecary’s house; it was empty just like all the other ones. The door wasn’t even locked.

He kicked the snow off his boots as he looked around. The place looked entirely normal. Just with no Apothecary. He shrugged and started to look through the nooks and crannies of the place. He found absolutely nothing. The villagers had left, and they had taken everything that wasn’t furniture, with them.

Techno let out an annoyed sigh. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do for you now. He supposed he just had to get back to you before the fire went out on you. He would figure something out, but right now just wasn’t the time. He wasted no time and plowing his way through the snow to get back to you.

-

Philza had arrived, his landing was a little shaky, but he made do, even if he crashed into a soft snowbank. Not bad for his first landing. He landed right next to Techno’s house and he was relieved to see smoke rising from the chimney. Phil trudged through the snow to the porch, his hand grabbing onto the railing of the stairs. The wood creaked underneath his feet. 

Something caught Phil’s eye. A blue mound of clothing piled up on the porch… There were bloodstains on it… Phil felt his eyes widen, and his body slumped into the siding of the house. It was as if he had been gut-punched. He had to get in that house. Gaining his stability, he grabbed at the doorknob of the house, it was locked. He stepped back and a mail slot in the door caught his eye, and he got a smart idea.

Biting the side of his cheek, he fiddles through his bag, grabbing a hold of an ender pearl. He lifted the metal flap of the mail slot, shoved his hand through, and tossed the pearl inside. As soon as he heard the pearl thunk on the ground, he closed his eyes and let his body go through the motions of teleporting. He remembered how sick he used to feel when he first started using the pearls.

When he opened his eyes, they landed on your sleeping form in the middle of the room. Your breathing was raspy and shallow, and your skin had a blue tint to it. Whatever this was, Philza didn’t like it. He brought out a netherite sword and allowed the point to stab into the wooden floorboards below.

He didn’t want to hurt you, but he didn’t like finding Techno’s bloody cloak outside the door, and a girl just sitting in Techno’s house with no Techno in sight. He was going to play this smart. He had to.


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up hazily, an unfriendly boot nudging your shoulder. Your vision was blurry, and to make things worse you were lightheaded. You buried your face into the mattress further making a whine of protest at who you thought was Techno’s boot. You felt the boot nudge you again even harder this time. You let out another whine.

“Gods, why are you such a dick this morning?” You questioned, craning your neck to look at the man who loomed above you. When your eyes focused on the man, you felt your eyes widening, and you tried pushing yourself up. Fatigue had gotten the best of your body, and you couldn’t find the strength to push yourself up into a standing position. So, your only option that was left, was scooting yourself away from the man, until your back was pressed firmly against the wall next to the fireplace. Nowhere else to go…

“What are you doing here?” The blonde man rested his hand on the end of his sword. You let your eyes dart around the room, looking for anything that might help you. “Eyes on me,” The man’s words were dangerous, and his hand tightened on the handle of the sword. “I won’t ask you again.”

“I could ask the same of you then.” You shot back, your eyes narrowing at him. Your vision still blurry, the sickness was still getting the best of you.

“No, you can’t.” He simply said, “Answer me.” You ground your teeth, looking for any way to get out of this situation.

“I was… Resting.” You eyed the man, memorizing his face. He didn’t seem to believe you. His mouth twisted into a frown, and his eyes scanned the house.

“This your house?” He asked kneeling next to his sword which was still digging into the floorboards. You glared at him through the haze of your mind. This was not the best situation. 

“No.” Your voice was laced with acid. “I just happened upon it in the fog.” You hissed through your teeth. You watched his fingers tap at the hilt absentmindedly. He didn’t question further on that topic. 

“Are you alone?” You felt your breath catch in your throat. You didn’t know if you should tell this man the answer. Either way didn’t seem like it would end in good consequences, no matter how you looked at it. You didn’t have strength to walk, let alone fight… You didn’t know where Techno was, and when he was coming back… The dread started spreading through your chest. You were probably going to die here, and if you told him you weren’t alone, he may just wait for Techno and ambush him… The other option wasn’t so good either… But if he believed you that you were alone, he may just move on… 

“Yes.” You breathed out, you found you couldn’t read his expression. He still was tapping away at the hilt of the sword.

“Uh huh,” He didn’t sound convinced. Your heart rate rose, and out of the corner of your eye you could see the poker Techno had used to stir the fire, hung up neatly in its holder. Your focus was brought back to the man when he put his sword up to your throat. “I don’t recommend lying to me again. You thought I was someone else when I woke you up.” The sword at your throat, was enough to get your adrenaline pumping. You cursed at yourself for your screw up.

“What do you want?” You glared up at him, your nails digging into the wood of the floorboards. At the question he lowered his sword. He was silent for a moment in thought.

“Information.” He simply stated, “Things don’t have to go sideways, we can talk like normal adults.” 

“I’m not one for talking.” You wrinkled your nose at him. He breaks in here and expects you to just comply with everything he wanted? No, not going to happen. “Put your sword away.” You may be more willing to talk then.

“You’re not in the position to just be making demands.” His eyes leveled with you. “Even if you weren’t sick, you would still be in the same position.” He leaned toward you. “Now… You’re going to tell me what I want to know.” As you saw him lean you took your chance and you bent your knee toward your chest and propelled your foot toward his face, he dodged the kick, and you took that chance to start grasping for the poker hanging near you. His eyes snapped to your hand grabbing for the poker. He was faster than you and he lunged forward with his sword.

In a matter of seconds, his sword had impaled your shoulder. Your voice was weak, and you cry out, hoping anyone could hear you. You felt tears start to prick at your eyes. The pain was immense. You grit your teeth, groaning in pain.

“Okay… That wasn’t how I wanted it to go.” The man muttered and in one stroke pulled the sword out of your flesh. You rolled on your side cradling the wound in your shoulder. The pain was unbearable, and your vision started to blur, you couldn’t focus on his face anymore. The man let out an exhausted sigh and brought his hand up to cover his eyes for a second, as he processed what he was going to do next.

Well… He wasn’t given more than a second, before a loud bang could be heard at the door. The sudden sound startling you. You watched as another bang had landed on the door not a second later. The man wasn’t facing you; he was watching the door. And with a small pause a third and final bang came from the door, but this time, the door flew off its hinges and landed straight onto the man, winding him, and making him fall to the floor.

Losing your grip on consciousness, your eyes skimmed the wound the sword had made. The sight of the blood making you sick. You weren’t necessarily squeamish… but the concept that an immense amount of your blood was now pooling onto the ground beneath you, made your stomach turn. Bile rose in your throat. The world around you blurred and it sounded as if you were submerged in water, accompanied by a ringing in your ears. You felt a pair of cool hands touch your face trying to get you to focus. You willed your eyes to stay open, your eyes meeting Techno’s gaze.

You couldn’t hear what he was saying, but that didn’t matter to you… You got lost in the golden eyes behind the mask. He looked like he was begging you to stay awake, promising you that he would get you help. Your focus stayed on the rough hand cupping your face, and before you knew it… Your eyes slowly closed, and you were gone to the world. 

-

Techno was relieved to see his cottage in the distance, the smoke still pluming out of the chimney, he breathed a sigh of relief, ‘Good, at least she’s warm.’ He thought to himself.

‘Wouldn’t you like to warm her up yourself?’ A voice taunted, causing Techno to tense up. 

“Mark her up. Spill her blood.” More whispers of the same caliber stayed in his head. The voices demanding that he protect you or kill you. He could handle it, he wouldn’t lose his grip on reality, that, he would make sure of. Shaking his head, trying to clear the voices away, he trudged further on through the snow.

When he was just a few steps away from the porch, he froze, his eyes lingering over the track marks leading to the stairs. Someone had gone to the door… But… there wasn’t tracks leading away from the house. 

‘Danger.’

‘Blood.’

‘They have her,’ The whispers in his mind drowned everything else out. Overstimulated from the voices, telling him to find you, he tried looking for his keys. His hands shook and he fumbled when he found them. But the one thing that he could hear… Was the familiar sound of flesh being torn, and your cries of pain.

That was it, he was done. In one swift movement he had kicked the door. His blood ringing in his ears, the voices spurring him on. When it didn’t budge, he kicked it again. When that didn’t work his boot for a third time landed on the door, causing the door to splinter from the frame and fly off and hit whoever was behind the door. His eyes scanned the room and he dashed to you. His hands cupping your cheeks. 

“Hey, stay with me… I’m going to get you out of here.” His words hung in the air. His gaze kept yours, and he felt your hand gently grasp at his shirt before your eyes slowly closed. He swallowed down his sadness, and his eyes scan over the door still lying on the man.

‘He should die for touching her.’

‘Blood for the blood god.’

He sneers, at the parts of the man he can see underneath the door, and he rises to his feet. Summoning an axe forth, he steps toward the man. His steps ringing out on the floorboards. Raising his axe, he stops just short of the door. Using his foot, he kicks the door away all the while ready to swing the axe. When he could see the blues of his eyes, he swings for blood.

An arrow narrowly misses Techno, just inches from his face, making him stop mid swing. Techno cranes his neck at the new threats standing in the doorway. The one who had the bow in their hands… Was Sapnap.

“Stand down Techno.” Sapnap warned, grabbing, and loading the arrow into the bow. 

“Or what?” Techno spat out his eyes briefly looking down at the downed man in front of him. His heart sunk when he realized just who the man was… Phil… The axe clatters to the ground, and Techno takes a step back.

“Hey mate.” Phil says awkwardly waving to him from the ground. Techno felt winded, he had almost… Killed Philza… His best friend…

“Who’s this?” A familiar and irritating voice asked from behind him from where you were lying. He turned and saw Dream crouching over you. Techno hesitated, swallowing his irritation. 

“Just some rando.” He stated, turning to help Philza up off the ground. “I need to brew some potions; she’s lost a lot of blood already, from when I found her in the fog.” Dream didn’t hesitate, and he scooped up your body into his arms.

“We can take her from here.” Dream simply said strolling out with you in his arms, George followed him. The urge was strong to stop Dream from taking you. He stopped himself, ridiculing himself of his urges and actions to protect you. He had met you yesterday…

“Get your anger in control Techno, Phil might put up with it, but we won’t.” Sapnap lingered by the door, his eyes boring into Techno. “We need people who are level-headed and what you just showed us… Is not level-headed…” Sapnap disappeared down the stairs. Techno kept his eyes glued to the place where Sapnap was standing. 

“It was the voices again wasn’t it?” Phil asked. He was cradling his right arm; it was definitely broken. Techno felt the guilt, and he slowly looked over at Phil and nodded. “I haven’t seen you like that since-”

“I know.” Techno interjected, as he looked away in shame. “I-I’m sorry Phil.”

“It’s okay Techno, I know how it is… I’m just glad those guys came when they did!” Phil flashed a smile at Techno, but Techno could hear the shakiness to Phil’s voice. He knew he was feared. Most of the time it didn’t bother him. But there was something that made him scared that you or Phil were going to fear him… 

“Why were they even out here?” Techno asked. 

“They’re the rescue team. They probably were just checking the house out and found us.” Phil explained. “We got an operation going, back at the community mine.”

“Hey guys?” George popped his head into the doorway, “We need to get back, your friend isn’t doing too well, she’s riding with Dream. He’s going on ahead, so she can get the care she needs. I would suggest bringing anything that might help. We have a caravan for supplies we happen across.” George, just as fast as he appeared, he disappeared.

“Let’s go home, Techno,” Phil said weakly smiling at him. Techno didn’t get how Phil could still smile at him like that… He had almost killed him and here he was… Just smiling. Phil helped to gather everything that would be useful, after wrapping his arm in a sling, and Techno hauled it out to the caravan. 

When he stepped outside his eyes scanned for any sign of you or Dream… But the two of you were already gone. He didn’t let his disappointment show, but Sapnap caught him looking for you and let out a breathy laugh. 

“Lookin’ for something?” Sapnap taunted. Techno’s glare fueled the amusement in Sapnap’s eyes. Sapnap crossed his arms in a smug manner, and he leaned against Techno’s house. Techno rolled his eyes and shook his head. There wasn’t time for any of this. He wanted to be there for you when you woke up, so that you would have at least one familiar face around. Techno sighed turning and went to go pack the rest of his house. 

\--

You felt like you were hit by a train, and each movement of the horse you were on sent another jolt through your body. Opening your eyes, you look up from the arms of the man cradling your body on the horse. He wore a white mask with a happy face on it. You were only conscious for a second, but you hid your face into his chest to hide from the harsh winds whipping around the two of you. His arms tightened around you and that was the last thing you felt before you slipped into unconsciousness again.


	5. Chapter 5

Dream felt you shift into him, his arms tightened around you to keep you steady. The two of you were almost to the mines. Spirit was running through the snow like a champ. When it was just starting to snow again, he sighed in annoyance. George and Sapnap were going to have a hell of a time getting back. He just hoped Techno wouldn’t cause too much trouble… ‘Should’ve just left him. He wanted to be alone anyway.’ Dream thought to himself rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

He looked down at the patch job he did on your shoulder, pleased that it still was holding, even if it was bloody. You were going to need a real doctor soon, between that and your sickness, you really weren’t doing well. You were hot to the touch and it was worrying. 

It had taken around two hours, but he could see the community village everyone lived in or nearby. It was surreal seeing it without life. Everyone had been evacuated underground. He even saw his old home; it was weird to think that his home wasn’t his anymore. So many memories happened behind those walls.

“Dream!” A voice called from the community mineshaft. A hooded shadowy figure waved cheerfully. Dream smiled at BadBoyHalo from behind the mask, happy to see him. Bad was carrying supplies and he was struggling to keep them in his arms when he waved to Dream. His tail swishing back and forth. Dream steered Spirit up to the mine. “Who’s that? And where’s George and Sapnap?” Bad’s eyes flicked from you to the surrounding area, looking for Dream’s team.

“Bad, I’m going to need help, with her.” Dream carefully jumped down from the horse, keeping you in his arms. “The others are fine, but she is sick and injured.” Bad’s tail swish in curiosity. His eyes flicked to the bloody mess that was your shoulder. “Please tell me we have health potions.”

“We might…” Bad looked up in thought. “But the amount of injured people we have, might have used up all the glistering melons we had… The food situation isn’t any better…” Bad looked back to Dream, as he grabbed ahold of Spirits reigns.

“Once Phil gets here, we can start production.” Dream started pushing past Bad into the mine. It was a long way down, but he had been through these mines many times. He was just thankful the mine had been widened so Bad could follow with Spirit.

“I don’t know if the doctor will help her right away…” Bad peered over Dreams shoulder at you. 

“Why’s that?” Dream asked his arms tightening around your frame. 

“He’s… not the nicest doctor around.” Bad hesitated. “He has a huge room full of patients, I think it’s wearing him thin.”

“Is he from our village?” Dream was trying to think of who it could be. 

“No, he’s not. But he’s all we have.” Bad sighed. Dream could hear the exhaustion in Bad’s voice. 

“We will see what happens.” Dream shrugged. It didn’t take long for him to reach the end of the staircase and it led to a short hallway, with an iron door at the end of it. He could hear an immense amount of activity on the other side of the door.

“Are you ready?” Bad asked with a tint of excitement. Dream slightly nodded his eyes trained on the door. There used to be a small room on the other side of that door. But with the amount of activity, he was hearing, he didn’t think it was that small anymore. When The iron door was just in front of him, Bad reached around and pulled the lever for Dream. 

Through the door… A man-made cavern lied in wait for them. Dream felt his eyes widen at the sight of it. People had carved out holes into the sides of the walls, working on where their houses were going to be. People on the ground floor were rebuilding shops and other buildings. The ceiling of the cavern was covered in clusters of glowstone. 

“Med bay is this way.” Bad pulled at Dreams sleeve and led him to their destination, Spirit still in hand. There were still parts being worked on in the cavern, but Dream watched the activity around him. A tree farm was being built, the huge hole was already carved out and Tubbo was seen placing around bee houses near the trees. Awesamdude was placing down grass, while showing a reluctant Tommy how to farm. None of them paid Dream any mind and they kept working on their project. Bad pointed out something ahead of them.

“We can keep Spirit here.” Bad said cheerfully. He was pointing at a nicely half-built stable. Where other horses were being kept. Dream nodded and Bad handed the horse off to a nice enough woman manning the stables. Dream promised the horse he would be back, receiving a nudge from Spirits nose. Spirit did well in the last two days, he was proud of that horse.

“Bad… This is amazing,” Dream couldn’t stop staring. The glowstone from above shimmered and cast a nice warm glow on everything. The best part about all this though… Was it wasn’t cold. It was a little humid, but it was going to work out. 

“I don’t think anyone slept,” Bad beamed, “I’m glad you like it, because this is going to be our new home! Might as well make the best of it.” It wasn’t long, before Bad stopped in front of a blank cave wall with nothing but a wooden door leading into it. “This is it. I hope he helps your friend out quickly. I gotta go find Skeppy.” Bad, with his arms still full of supplies, gave Dream a half wave before he walked back the way they had come. 

Dream had kicked at the door, trying to simulate a knocking sound. A few seconds had gone by and a woman had answered the door. It was Nihachu. She had looked tired. She hadn’t got a wink of sleep it seemed. Her eyes scanned over you and she brought her hand up to her mouth.

“Oh no!” She held the door open for Dream to come through. The inside was just as plain as the outside and Dream bit his cheek looking at the long line of other patients. Niki followed his gaze, and she had anticipated what he was going to say next. She had heard it from all the others before him, but he had to try.

“She’s in really bad shape, Niki.” Dream stated, almost pleading.

“It-” Niki was tripping over her words. “We have others in bad spots…” The look she gave Dream was apologetic. “It’s not my call, Dream…” 

“She’s sick and injured,” Dream swallowed dryly. “She needs medical attention now.” Niki opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off completely by a voice behind her. The owner of the voice had just walked into the room.

“If she’s sick, leave. I will not have her contaminating my other patients and worsening their lives more.” The voice came from an older man with a rather large nose. “We run on a first come first serve basis here. You can’t just expect to jump ahead of these people.” He motioned to the people in the waiting room. Dream supposed he was right… but having a closer look at the people waiting in the room, they had only suffered minor injuries. You had a hole in your shoulder… 

“I don’t give a fuck,” Dream spat stepping toward the doctor in an almost menacing way. “This woman was stabbed, and you think a swollen ankle trumps that?” Dream motioned to someone who had a swollen ankle resting up above their heart. 

“Listen.” The doctor hissed, his eyes narrowing at Dream. “No, I do not think that a swollen ankle is more important than a stab wound… That’s preposterous. What I do think is… That she could make the people who have bad wounds worse. They do not need to get sick. We don’t have the resources for illness here.” The doctor turned away from Dream, this made Dreams blood boil. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. And that girl in her condition will die anyway. I can’t waste resources on someone who I think will die.” With that he turned to Niki. “Miss Nihachu, please escort this man out.” And with that he was gone, walking into the backroom where the groans of the wounded were.

Niki hesitantly stepped up and Dream stepped away from her. If his mask wasn’t on, she could’ve been able to see the daggers he was glaring at her. She bit her lip and turned, walking to a bag left on the ground. She fished around it and when she found a pouch that she was looking for, she stood and handed it to Dream. Dream felt the stares of all the other people in the room boring into his back.

“I-I’m going to have to ask you to please leave…” She didn’t want to say it, but she had to, and he knew it. Taking the pouch, he gives her one last look, wishing she had taken his side. “Dream… I wouldn’t stand for this if others didn’t need my help. Find my bakery, Its one of the spruce buildings by the entrance. The key is in there.” She whispered, pointing at the pouch. “She can use my bed in the back, and you can use what I have left in that pouch.” Niki gave him a sad look. “Good luck.” Her eyes flicked to your wound. The bloody material needed changing.

Dream huffed, retracing his steps, his legs moving on a new sense of urgency. If the doctor could take one look at you and think you were on the brink of death… Then he had to hurry. He couldn’t bring himself to just easily give up on you or anyone else. He wanted to help lead these people and how could he lead the people if he couldn’t save even one? 

When the plain square building, that was still under construction, entered his vision, he breathed a sigh of relief. The sign from Niki’s old bakery leaning against the wall next to the heavy spruce door. At least it had walls and a roof. When he walked up to the door, he kneeled, setting you briefly onto the ground. He opened the pouch and fished out a key. The pouch seemed to be a mini first aid kit. A small vial of health potion sat in the pouch along with bandages sutures gauze, and some hydrogen peroxide. Taking the vial in hand he examined it. He didn’t think it was enough to close a wound like yours, but it could help. He quickly unlocks the bakery and promptly gets you inside. 

There was no furniture in the main room, but he remembered Niki said something about the bed in the back room, he wouldn’t bloody her bed… So, he opted to clean your wound on the floor. The inside of the bakery was bare bones, the walls didn’t have any insulation yet and the floors were still stone. ‘This would do for now.’ Dream thought to himself while carrying you to the middle of the room, a lantern hung just above his head. Lying you down on the stone floor, he lit the lantern, and carefully sat down next to your body. He inched himself closer to you and brought your head to rest on his leg. Peeling back the sloppy patchwork and cringing when some of it stuck to your skin. He took his mask off to get a good look at the wound. 

“Shit.” He hissed through his teeth. It looked as though an infection was starting to set in. Taking some of the gauze he soaks it in the hydrogen peroxide, dabbing at the skin around the wound cleaning it. The peroxide bubbled on contact. He cleaned your wound as best as he could and waited for the peroxide to dry. He then took the healing potion into his hand, uncorking the small vial. This amount would have been great for small wounds but not for some thing as big as this.

He pours the vial of health potion into your wound, careful not to spill it. Just as expected, it only heals a tiny bit of the wound. Any progress was progress. He bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes skimming over the sutures still resting in the pouch. That was when he felt you stir below him. His eyes meet yours and he felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt a blush creep up on his cheeks, and it never occurred to him that you might wake up in the middle of him tending to you, especially at the worst part to come.

~~

Your eyes fluttered open to a dark room, and you were thrown for a loop between the pain in your shoulder and the dizziness. The only thing grounding you was the persons leg your head was resting on. When you finally had focused in, your eyes met a pair of green ones. A halo of light circled around his head and you reached up, your fingers caressing his face. You were questioning if you were alive at this point. He slightly leaned his face into your touch, and you felt your heart flutter. 

“Is this real?” Your voice was hoarse, your throat ached, and your lungs burned. His hand came up and around yours, tenderly holding it.

“Do I feel real to you?” His fingers interlaced with yours and he gave your hand a squeeze. You gave a nod pretending that you didn’t feel the blush that spread on your cheeks. Hearing him chuckle he lets go of your hand. “I’m Dream, what’s your name?” 

“Y/N,” You cleared your throat, “Where’s Techno?” You asked your eyes searching around the barren room for him. An irritated look crossed over Dreams features at the mention of Techno, for a split second, though you had missed the look altogether.

“Not sure…” He said leaning down over your shoulder, “He’s on his way here, but knowing him he’s not going to stay anyway. He’s not the best person to be around anyway.” You were surprised by his words. He seemed fine to you… When you gave him a questioning look, he sighed, and he showed you his neck. You had to sit up a bit to see it fully. On the back of his neck, was a scar, just under his hairline on his neck. 

“O-Oh.” You bit your lip, you quickly set your head on his leg again, your body needed to rest and you sitting up was taking a toll on you, even if it was just for a second.

“Techno,” Dream began, as he inspected your shoulder, “isn’t to be trusted. I nearly lost my head to him. He can’t control himself, and I would hate to see you getting hurt because you don’t know what he’s capable of.” Dream withdrew a suture. You weren’t sure that he was talking about the same man… He seemed very caring, it seemed like he had a hard time showing it sometimes. He even had his tender moments when you two had shared the bed for warmth. You had woken up many times during that night and when you would move, his arms would instinctively pull you closer even though he was asleep. Is that why he moved away from other people? Because this was what others thought of him?

“I-,” you hesitated, “I’ll be careful, I promise.” Your eyes flicked up to Dreams again. He gave you a soft smile and brushed some hair from your face.

“Do what you want, I won’t stop you. But if you need my help… Come find me, and I’ll be there.” He spoke the last words earnestly. You would remember that. After a few moments of silence, he changed the topic to your shoulder. “This is going to hurt… Badly.” He warned. You gave a nod and swallowed back your fear. 

“Let’s just get this over with…” You eye the suture in his hand. He gives you a nod.

“Don’t worry… I’ll take care of you.” His words echoed in your head. The next few minutes were filled with excruciating pain.

\--

Techno rode in the back of the caravan with Philza. Phil was on his back trying to get some sleep, his hat covering his face, and Techno let his eyes wander over the sling Phil had his arm in. He felt horrible, he had lost control… Again… And in the heat of the moment, he would have killed Philza. Guilt riddled his thoughts.

“Mate.” Phil said, “I told you, you can’t blame yourself for this…” He sighed. “I’m just happy you’re alive.” Techno was silent. “You can’t let it eat at you, and I can feel your self-loathing from here.” He could hear the smile in Phil’s voice. Techno inwardly sighed, ‘If only it were that easy Phil…’ He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. The silence that followed rolled into minutes.

“So…” Phil started as he peeked out from under his hat at Techno. “You found a girl?” Phil let out a laugh as Techno looked away sheepishly. “I approve, but you’re going to have to teach her how to defend herself better.” Phil joked.

“We’re just friends, Phil.” Techno said in a huff. 

“For now,” Phil repositioned the hat back over his face again. “I still have to apologize to her.” Phil simply said, “Maybe we can work off of that.” Techno looked over at Phil with irritation. He just wanted the subject dropped. 

When there was nothing, but silence coupled together with light snores from Philza, Techno sighed and lied down himself. His eyes staring up at the fabric of the caravan. He wanted to take you to Nihachu’s bakery and find out your favorite foods. He would help you build your house. He wanted to be there as a familiar face, as a… friend. 

‘She’ll leave, once she figures out what you are.’

‘She’s going to betray you.’ The voices rang clear through his mind. He was so exhausted; he couldn’t even push the voices away in his mind. He wanted to give you a chance, and he would do just that. He felt his eyes become heavy, and before he knew it, he had drifted away into the land of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy! I got a [Tumblr!](https://aressss1.tumblr.com/) Thank you all for the support on this! Its been awesome! <3


	6. Chapter 6

Phil was the first to wake up of the two in the back of the caravan. He slowly sat up using his good arm to push himself up. His eyes scanned over Techno. Techno’s face was peaceful as he slept. He was surprised that the half piglin had decided to sleep in the presence of the other two. Not that the other two were in the caravan with them but, that really was a testament that Techno was exhausted.

The caravan wasn’t moving anymore, and it was silent outside. Deciding to take a peek, Phil pulled back the fabric of the caravan, letting the harsh wind chill in for a moment, which he came to regret. Techno stirred at that. They were at their village. George and Sapnap nowhere in sight, they had taken the horses as well. 

“Mate, I think they just left us out here.” Phil said to Techno who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Not surprising.” Techno stretched his arms causing his joints to pop. Phil lets out a small hum, as he looked at the height of the snow on the roofs of the houses. There had to be at least two feet of snow, and it still was coming. The large flakes were still falling fast to the earth, with no end in sight. A thought had occurred to him and he let out a groan as he sat back on the wood of the caravan, causing Techno to look over at him curiously. “Uhh, you okay there?”

“The library,” Phil lamented, this caused Techno’s eyebrow to raise. Phil’s hand covered his face.

“You… Wanna go to our local library?” Techno questioned, his arms crossing over his chest for heat. “Phil… I gotta be honest here, I don’t have a library card.”

“No, the books in the stronghold library,” Phil clarified, his hand sliding down his face. “They might hold the key to stopping this.” Phil let out another pained groan. “Why didn’t I think about those books?”

“What books?” Ranboo popped his head into the caravan, scaring Philza and nearly making him topple over. Phil winced from the action and cradled his broken arm. “Whoa,” Ranboo eyed Phil’s arm. “Sorry Phil…” He apologized bowing his head. 

“It’s alright mate.” Phil said gritting through the pain. “And to answer your question, I left the library in the stronghold untouched, whatever books are in there might be important. I was going to come back for them.” Phil said after the pain had started to subside. 

“So… Let’s go get them?” Ranboo offered.

“You want to help me get the books from the library Ranboo?” Phil asked the enderling, the question making Ranboo light up as he nodded.

“Okay I get the fact that you want to go back to the library, but you need to heal your arm before anythin’.” Techno motioned at Phil’s arm. “It doesn’t make sense to go when you’re already at a disadvantage.”

“You’re going to have to wait a while Phil.” Ranboo spoke up. “The doctor, has been denying patients left and right.” Techno’s eyes snapped up to Ranboo’s eyes, the action making Ranboo uncomfortable and a small enderman noise could be heard, as he kept his eyes anywhere but Techno. Techno didn’t care.

“What do you mean?” Techno’s tone was serious. “How long has that been going on?” His brows furrow, as Ranboo hesitates.

“U-uh…” Ranboo’s voice wavered as he tried processing what he was going to say next. “There isn’t enough supplies to go around. People are dying because of the lack of health potions. We have already exhausted our bone meal for the melons.” Techno felt his eyes widen and he started to go through his chests that he had brought with him. 

“You haven’t seen Dream?” He asked still sifting through his items.

“Last I saw him…” Ranboo paused. “I-uh… I can’t actually remember?” Ranboo said sheepishly. Techno sighed not finding any melons. He hung his head and stood up from his chests. His eye landing on the ender chest off to the side. ‘If I need to… I will.’ Techno thought to himself. Techno opened the ender chest, and he pulled out the only one of its kind he had ever found. An enchanted golden apple. 

“Mate?” Phil eyed Techno warily. 

“If nothing else will help her, this will Phil.” Techno gripped the shimmering golden apple in his hand.

“Those are pretty rare.” Phil cocked his head at Techno, a smirk coming to his lips. “You sure you want to just give it up like that?” 

“…” Techno quickly hid the apple from sight, his eyes leveling with Phil. He didn’t even have an excuse. “What do you want me to say, Phil?” He bent and grabbed a red cloak from one of the chests and wrapped it around his shoulders. He liked the blue one better, but the red cloak made him come back to his roots.

“You don’t have to say anything mate.” He couldn’t hide the amusement from his voice. Ranboo spoke up shifting the topic back to what it was before. Techno couldn’t help but be appreciative of that.

“So, Phil, when did you want to go to that library?” Ranboo asked, making Phil hum in response.

“You see how deep that snow is?” Phil pointed to the rooftops he was looking at earlier. “We need to go soon,” Phil looked down at his arm. “I don’t think we have time to wait.” 

“You wrote down the coordinates right Phil?” Ranboo asked. When Phil nodded, “Let’s just mine our way to the stronghold. Just in case we need to make multiple trips.” Phil nodded. 

“That’s smart, Ranboo.” Phil pushed up from his seat with his good arm. “I nominate Techno to mine it out.” He clapped his hand on Techno’s shoulder. Techno couldn’t even argue with that. He wanted to make it up to Phil for the recent events. 

“For you Phil… The world.” Techno stated, he stepped out of the caravan helping Phil out as well. 

“Thanks mate. You should go check on your friend.” Phil put a tiny bit of emphasis on the word ‘friend’. Techno rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about your stuff, Kristin and I will keep it safe for you.” Phil patted Techno on the shoulder. After saying their goodbyes, Techno was swift on his feet, descending into the mine. He could see Sapnap and George climbing back up the stairs, but he paid them no mind. Hugging the wall, passing them on the stairs, he could hear their whispers, but he couldn’t exactly make out what they were saying.

“Techno,” Sapnap called as he turned to look at the half piglin. “We are going to put your chests on the ground so you can get them when you can, George and I are going to look for more survivors.” Techno didn’t even spare him a glance, only raised his hand, to show he heard them. Hearing the huff from Sapnap was the last of his worries. He probably would have gotten the same reaction if he had responded differently anyway.

It had taken a minute, but he finally found himself at the bottom of the staircase, the iron door in front of him almost intimidating. He wasted no time in flicking the lever and stepping through the now open door. His eyes flitted around taking in the scenery before him. People too busy at work to notice him. The cavern though manmade took on the shape like a huge ravine. Off in one corner of the cave, he spied the ray of a beacon shining bright.

‘Well, that explains how they dug all this out in such a short amount of time.’ Techno thought. Looking around at the busy scenery. He didn’t exactly know where to go from here. But he was sure he would find someone who could at least remember that they had seen Dream in the last few hours. Heading toward the beam of light he didn’t have to look to hard. There… Sitting on the wooden spruce step of an unfinished building was Dream… He was looking at his bloodied hands.

Being a hybrid, Techno could just tell… That, that was your blood. Every muscle in his body tensed up. Dream hadn’t noticed him yet.

‘She’s gone.’ The voices wailed in his mind, also demanding for Dreams blood. While he was struggling, to keep a more optimistic view, his heart sank. This didn’t mean she was gone but try telling the voices in his mind that. He stepped up in front of Dream, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t wearing his mask, which was surprising even for Techno. He started wearing that mask ever since Techno scarred up that pretty boy face of his.

“Where is she Dream?” Techno’s monotone voice cut through the air, causing Dream’s eyes to flit up to Techno. Techno watched in amusement, as Dream’s face contorted into a look of animosity. 

“Resting,” He stands eyes leveling with Techno. Techno breathes an inward sigh of relief. “I’m surprised to see you here, Techno.” Dream takes slow steps pacing on the step, his eyes never leaving Techno. “I thought you were just going to leave as soon as you got Phil here.”

“Well, you see Dream,” Techno started as he cocked his head to the side. “I have my business here; I can’t just leave. At least not yet. I also couldn’t wait to see how my handiwork on your face healed.” Techno’s eyes ran over Dreams scars striping his cheek and forehead, and finally to the one on the back of Dreams neck. That struck a nerve in Dream. Taking a few seconds Dream smiled, almost evilly.

“Hmmm, what do you think she will feel when she sees what you truly are.” Dream’s sweet voice hit him deep, though Techno refused to show it. “I guess a human and piglin aren’t totally unheard of, seeing that you had to come from somewhere. But what do you think she will feel, when the ‘Blood God’ turns into the bloodthirsty beast?” Rage boiled in his veins; the voices begged for Techno to shut him up. “Guess what Blood God.” Dream’s face contorted into a sneer, “When you have scared the living shit out of her, I will come to be there for her. Because I **know** , you will slip up.” Dream was still pacing his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. 

Techno was fuming, his hands clenching under his cloak, not that Dream could see them. He was about to say something when a delicate hand landed on his shoulder interrupting the situation. Techno’s eyes scanned over to Nihachu, who had no idea what had been going on.

“Techno!” Niki looked genuinely happy to see him there, “I’m so glad you’re safe!” 

“Same for you Niki.” Techno gave her a smile, his eyes landing back on Dream. “Dream was just about to take me to see someone.” Even though he was monotone, it held a warning that Dream could hear, loud and clear.

“Oh yes!” Niki clapped her hands together, “How has she been doing Dream?” Dream turned to Niki plastering a smile on his face. 

“I patched her up,” Dream said, taking on a friendlier tone than before. “She’s doing a lot better now. Though, she’s still horribly sick,” Niki nodded, looking down in thought. 

“Let’s get some food, I’m sure at this point we all need it.” Niki waved them inside the building behind Dream. Techno didn’t hesitate to look around for you. The enchanted golden apple weighing heavy in his pocket. “If she’s resting, she would be in the back room Techno.” Niki chuckled, taking note of his eagerness to see you. “Dream, will you help me set up my kitchen?” Niki turned her attention to Dream.

“Of course!” Dream followed Niki to a smoker in the corner of the room. Dreams eyes narrowing at Techno slightly when Niki wasn’t looking. Techno opted out of their conversation, his eyes looking at the entrance of the back room. Noticing the blood that had pooled on the stone in the middle of the room he avoids it. When he makes it to the entrance of the backroom, he had to duck his head from the doorway to enter.

There you were, sleeping peacefully on a pink bed. He very quietly walks to your side. He hates the worry he has for you… His want to protect you. But if he was being honest with himself, he loved the way you snuggled into him last night, even if it was for warmth. You didn’t look at him like a monster, even after seeing his face, his ears... He vowed that you would never see the other side that liked to come out in his blood thirst. 

He sat on a wooden crate leaning his back against the wall, focusing on your ragged breathing. He could hear the activity from the other room. From Niki telling Dream to wash his hands to heavy furniture being moved. It wasn’t long before the smell of food made it to Techno’s nose. He was just going to have to wait for you to wake up. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, wishing he had one of his books to read. He would wait as long as he needed to for you.

~~

“Hey, wake up.” You felt a hand on your shoulder shaking you awake. Your eyes fluttered open to see Dream. He gave you a soft smile before he held out the item in his hands for you to take. He had a bowl of what looked to be rabbit stew. When your eyes focused on him you thankfully took the bowl of food. Your stomach was pleading for food. You took your first bite of the stew and you fell in love with the taste. It was absolutely perfect.

A woman, behind Dream catches your attention, she had handed Techno a bowl of his own. When your eyes land on Techno, you felt so happy. His eyes meet your gaze. 

“Thank the gods,” You breathe out. You feel almost all the tensity in your body melt away. 

“Nice to see you too.” You saw the small quirk of his mouth. Breathing out a sigh your eyes land back on the woman, who waved at you.

“Hi! I’m Niki.” She sat on the bed next to you. “It’s so nice to meet a friend of Techno’s!”

“I’m Y/N,” You shook her hand. After a few minutes of small talk and trying not to cough too much, you dug into your meal, with gusto. Everyone else followed suit. You really appreciated the warm liquid soothing your throat.

“Sorry it’s such a small amount everyone,” Niki apologized. “Rationing out food is something that’s going to happen for a while.” Techno leaned forward toward you with his bowl. You looked at him curiously and before you knew it, he was dumping half of his bowl into yours.

“What are you doing?” You asked, looking at him incredulously. 

“You need to eat more so you gain your strength and get over this sickness.” He stated plainly, going back to eating what was in his own bowl. “Don’t argue with me on this. You’ll just tire yourself out.” Before you could say anything else. Dream spoke up.

“He’s right Y/N.” Dream pushed some of your hair out from your face. You felt a blush rise up your neck and spread on your cheeks when you looked into his eyes. “We just want the best for you.” Your eyes flicked back to Techno, who seemed to be staring down at the stone floor with an unreadable look in his eyes. Not liking having all the attention on you, you simply nodded.

“…Alright.” You gave in. The next few minutes were spent talking with the people around you. It felt… Nice. The last time you had relied on someone was awful, and you hoped it wouldn’t turn into that type of situation again. You couldn’t take it. The whole time you, Dream, and Niki chatted Techno was silent, he would give his input here and there, but… You wanted to talk to him. Alone. You wanted to thank him for everything. You supposed there was time to do it at a later day, you promised yourself you would.

There would be time where you could do that… Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [Tumblr!](https://aressss1.tumblr.com/) I just hit 50 followers on there! I also just opened up my requests on there too! :D


	7. Chapter 7

Niki was a very gracious host; you had come to love her company. She would be gone in the day, helping with the patients the doctor hadn’t turned away. At night she would come and talk to you, tending to your needs. She was extremely easy to get along with. It had been a few days and you saw both Dream and Techno every day that passed. You even got to meet Wilbur, both her and Techno’s friend. They all had an amazing dynamic together.

Your sickness had started to calm down, though you still couldn’t do too much from the fatigue you still felt. Your highlight of the day was Techno, who would come bring Niki some of his already stocked-up food and she would cook, while Techno would read to you. That was a deal made between the two of them, and they both seemed pretty content. Dream was always there watching over you when he could as well.

Dream was out and about most of the day, finding more survivors and helping them, with the help of his friends Sapnap and George. He loved telling you stories of the events he had been through, both recent and long passed. 

It was the middle of the night and you were having bad dreams, it was easy for them to sneak up on you. Peace eluded you even more so after the recent events. You woke up with a start, the pain still in your shoulder. Pushing yourself up, images of your dream flashing behind your eyes. Blood dripping off the blade, Techno’s friend… Phil… wielded. You were back in that house again in the dream, and you wished you could scrub your memory clean. You were supposed to be safe here, you were… 

You choked out a sob, causing Niki who was sleeping on the floor to stir, you put your hands over your mouth cursing the fact that you had woken her up. The tears started streaming down your face. You could hear the fabric of her blankets rustling beside the bed, she crawled over to the bed sitting on her knees right next to you.

“A-ah,” Niki leaned forward, “Please… Why are you crying? Are you in pain? What can I do to help?” Niki sounded distressed and you disliked that fact, you didn’t want to be the cause of it. You couldn’t help but shake your head. Your vision was blurring as you started hyperventilating. An overpowering sense of dread settled in your chest. “Do you want me to get someone?” She asked her eyes searching your face. You hesitated but nodded, your fingers grasping at the fabric of your shirt on your arms.

“Techno… Please.”  
She didn’t hesitate, she got right up and threw on her shoes, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. 

\--

Techno laid back on Phil’s couch in his newly dug out home. Kristin and Phil had gone to bed hours ago, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the voices who had taken to whispering the letter E to him for the hour. The house was nicely built, and it already had a homey feel to it. Phil and Kristin’s building and decorating energies flowed well together. You almost wouldn’t expect it to lead out to a massive ravine. The house was still under construction, and the guest bedrooms weren’t complete yet. 

Techno helped with the house, building things for Phil, on account of his broken arm. He was happy to help Philza, in between his visits with you… Techno even helped with Kristin’s garden. The back of the house led out to a good sized ‘backyard’. Techno helped till the dirt he brought in and he gave Kristin the resources to start their farm.

His thoughts were cut short by a frantic rap at the door. If he weren’t a hybrid, he probably wouldn’t have heard Niki’s voice calling out to Techno from behind the heavy dark oak door. The stress in her voice made him jump up to his feet, rushing to the door. Adrenaline began pumping, and he unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing a disheveled Niki, she was out of breath from running.

“She’s panicking Techno,” she said in between breaths, “She wanted you.” Her hands gripped at her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. His grip tightened on the door. 

“Thank you, Niki.” His voice sounded out, as he slipped on his own shoes. He didn’t even bother getting his mask.

“You two take all the time you need,” Niki panted handing him the key to her place, “I’m going to go check on the patients,” Techno saw something in Niki’s eyes that he just couldn’t place, along with a smirk. He would ponder on it another time. Right now, he was thinking about you, and how you had requested him to be there.

He left Niki standing there at Phil’s door. He was in the residential part of the ravine. As they expanded the cavern, it started to expand in a crescent shape, with a long main road bustling with homes and businesses. Even in the late of night, people were walking around, working on their projects. The voices riddled his mind. 

‘She needs you.’

‘Protect her.’

He quickened his pace once the bakery came into view. People around him started to stare, and they would quickly look away once they realized who was rushing through their town. People didn’t like Techno, it was obvious. It was more so after the incident with Dream, people saw him for who he was. Dream’s words echoed through Techno’s brain. ‘When you have scared the living shit out of her, I will come to be there for her. Because I know, you will slip up.’

He shook the thoughts from his head. He needed to be there for you right now. His feet landed on the wood steps of the bakery and he took no time in unlocking the door, and walking in. Locking it behind him. He could hear your sobbing from the front room. His heart pounded. What if he wouldn’t be able to help you through this? What if this would just result in you pushing him away? Techno knew he wasn’t good with comforting people. He swallowed down the lump in his throat. His steps rung out against the stone floor, and his pace quickened when he heard you call his name.

“I’m here.” He said as he stepped through the doorway to the room you were in. His eyes landed on you; your face buried in your arms as they rested on your knees. “Everything is okay.” He stopped just short of your bed, kneeling so he could be eye level with you. “You’re safe. Just breathe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He mimicked the way Phil helped him with his panic attacks. He didn’t dare to touch you. When your eyes met his he implored you to follow his breathing. 

It was a few minutes, and your breathing had calmed down, but your hands still shook. You shifted your body and motioned for him to sit next you. He seemed hesitant, but he climbed up on top of the bed just next to you.

“What’s your favorite color?” His eyes searched your tearstained face. You cocked your head at him at his question. Your eyes flitting up to his golden ones. “Come on, what’s your favorite color?” He asked again. You let out a shaky breath and gave your answer. “That’s a good color.” You saw his mouth quirk up into a smile. You wanted to see him smile more.

He ended up firing off questions at you waiting and listening for your answers. He was patient with you when tears spilled from your eyes again, not nearly as bad as before. You didn’t know how much time had passed, but your eyes started to feel heavy again. You felt thoroughly worn out. You let out a little sigh, and you leaned on Techno’s shoulder. Feeling him freeze for a second, he wrapped his arm around you carefully, the both of you lying down in the bed. Your face buried in his chest.

“Thank you, Techno.” You whispered to him, taking in his scent. His arm tightened around you, as he drew the covers around the both of you. You were fast asleep.

Techno was staring up at the ceiling, like he had done every single night thus far. This time with you in his arms. It was a weird feeling, being in this situation again, not out of necessity, but out of want. You had initiated this, and it was foreign to Techno, even if it felt right. But for Techno one thing was for certain, and he couldn’t help but be a little freaked out… When he found you in the room, not one of the voices in his mind could be heard… And for the first time in a while, he was afraid.

\--

Ranboo was sitting in his small cave like home, his pets lounging about around him. He hadn’t gotten around to building too much for his own home, but he had been helping with the farming, even going into the nether and finding the gigantic bones, he was learning how to imbue the bone meal with magic so the plants could grow almost instantaneously. With the volume of people in the ravine it was still hard to feed all of them, not to mention still try and make enough glistering melons for potions. With Dream’s team bringing in more and more people by the day, it meant more bone meal had to be made, but the bones were starting to deplete from the surrounding areas of the portal in the nether. They tried composting, but even that was proving hard if they didn’t have a lot of resources to compost…

Today was the day that Phil had called for a town meeting. Everyone was meeting in the town square. The clock on Ranboo’s wall read that it was mid-day. It was almost time to go, he went through his checklist of what to bring with him, patting his pockets down in search of his key. He scans around the room cursing the fact that he can’t remember where he put his key. He didn’t have much in the way of furniture and his home rivaled a small studio sized house. It couldn’t have gone far…

Searching for it, he found it hidden behind the dragon egg on one of the only end tables he owned. He quickly pocketed the key, his eyes turn to the egg, a small smile gracing his lips. He put a hand on the egg, he could feel the life in the egg pulsing, it let off a happy aura at Ranboo’s touch. He turned and started heading to the door. If he left now, he would be early to the town meeting, and he could help Phil do whatever he needed to.

A sound echoed off the stone walls, and it was a sound Ranboo knew well. It was the sound endermen made when they had teleported, but… This wasn’t an enderman teleporting… He was almost afraid to look back, but when he did, the egg wasn’t where he had left it. He quickly scanned the room, and it didn’t take long to see that the egg had teleported in front of the door.

“Huh…” Ranboo breathed out. He walked over to the egg, crouching to grab it. When he returned it to the place that he had just left it, he took a step back, watching it for a few seconds before sighing. “How weird…” Ranboo mumbled out before turning toward the door again. He only got a few steps away before the egg did it again. Ranboo cocked his head at the egg. It really didn’t want him to go… He thought for a second. Trying for a third time and getting the same result. He was just going to have to carry the egg with him. He grabbed a canvas bag settling the egg in the bag and covering it up. Ranboo could feel the happy aura radiating through the bag. With a sigh he was ready, he went out his front door, finally on his way to the town meeting.

\--

Phil looked out over the crowd that had gathered, he had no idea where Techno had gone but he was sure it had something to do with you, not that Phil minded of course. He wasn’t even sure if Techno was going to stick around, if Techno wanted it, he would give him one of the rooms that was currently being built in his house.

He stood next to the beacon shining brightly in the town square. People started congregating around him. There were so many faces he didn’t know. He started to even feel worried. How could he take care of all these people? He had barely gotten through Will and Tommy’s antics when they were children. Hell, Phil even now had to tell Will to stop eating sand.

Phil was brought out of his thoughts when Ranboo weaved through the crowd of people with excitement in his eyes. He gave Phil a half wave, before he protectively settled his hand on a canvas bag he had strapped on his shoulder. Phil looked down curiously at the bag, it looked like an ordinary bag but there had to be a reason Ranboo was guarding it. He would ask about it later.

The crowd grew steadily, looking at Phil expectantly. His eyes looked for anymore faces that he could pick out among the crowd. His eyes landed on Wilbur, Tommy, Niki, and Kristin, who had found their places at the front of the crowd next to Ranboo. He gave a big sigh and let his eyes scan over everyone.

“Hey everyone,” his voice echoed on the walls of the chasm. He almost faltered when nothing but silence answered. “So… I know things have been hard and it’s going to take some getting used to.” Looking in the crowd, he saw many tired faces, faces that wanted answers, and Phil didn’t know if they would like his answers.  
“So… First things first… The food situation.” His eyes gazed over the farms. “Sam and I are going to start up work on automated farms,” Phil’s confidence started growing with every word. “I’ve seen Sam build with redstone and he is one of the best people for the job.” Phil paused. “When it comes to bone meal… be sure to compost anything that is compostable. If anyone would like to go deeper into the nether for bones we haven’t found yet, or if you want to hunt for skeletons, be sure to tell Sam he’s working on procedures to make sure everyone gets back safely,” Phil, after going through some specifics of the nether, asked the people a question.

“So now that we have plans and are settling here nicely… I wanted to ask you lovely people what should our home be named?” Phil didn’t have to wait long, because his sons had stepped forward, an excited look on their faces. They had obviously talked about this topic at one point or another.

“L’manburg!” Wilbur’s excited cry echoed through the chasm.

“No Pogtopia is better!” Tommy argued. Listening to their squabbling, Phil puts an end to it. 

“Shut!” He shushes his boys, earning the laughter from some of the audience. “Does anyone have any other suggestions?” 

“How ‘bout The Burrow?” A deep voice suggested… That voice could only come from Eret. Phil looked at them, thankful for a regular answer. It was talked about for a good few minutes, with people putting random suggestions into the hat. It was a toss up between The Burrow, and Derinkuyu. After much consideration and everyone voting, the majority vote was in favor of The Burrow.

“That’s all fine and dandy… But what about our sick and wounded that keep getting turned away?” A disgruntled woman spoke up. Phil was taken aback by the question and he thought about it, the crook of his finger resting on his bottom lip.

“Niki,” Phil’s eyes flicked to her. “Has the med bay been updated since we got here?” She shook her head.

“We haven’t had time to do anything,” Niki spoke up, “It’s just as crowded in there now as it was a few days ago.”

“Alright…” Phil said after a few seconds of silence. “Any builders, who want to work on an actual hospital, will need to find Wilbur,” He motioned at Will. When more and more questions made their way to Phil, he fired off solution after solution to the people questions. When the crowd seemed happy and no one else had any questions for him he gave out a sigh. A familiar voice broke through the crowd, and his heart dropped.

“Who the fuck put this guy in charge?” Schlatt stepped forward from the back of the crowd, he had been leaning on the blank wall that led into the med bay listening in until this point. He made his way to stand right beside Phil. “This guy, won’t be able to lead you people right.” He jerked his thumb toward Philza. If Phil didn’t have a broken arm, he would have crossed his arms over his chest.

“Schlatt, what are you doing?” Phil studied his face, he wasn’t wasted off his rocker, which meant he was up to something.

“Let’s just say that I’m… educating the people.” His gaze turned from Phil to the crowd. “Are you really going to let the man responsible for this whole mess, rule you?” Gasps could be heard from the crowd, but Philza refused to falter.

“Do you really think, I wanted this? Listen Schlatt, if you want to rule these people so much, go for it.” Phil’s eyes burned holes through Schlatt.

“I don’t think you originally wanted this, no.” Schlatt’s eyes peered over at him. “But a good opportunity, is still a good opportunity.” His voice was amused. “Why don’t you tell them all what happened? I think you owe them that much.” Phil was at a loss for words and now he was facing an angry mob. When his eyes glanced over at his love, Kristin, she nodded at him, trying to be encouraging. He let a shortened version of him and his friends killing the ender dragon spill out from his lips.

“So, this all happened because you wanted to scavenge for loot, is that what you’re telling these good people.” Schlatt feigned his surprise. 

“Schlatt.” Phil said through his teeth. “The books and scrolls I read did not tell me anything about this.” Phil gritted his teeth. “I have been looking into ways of reversing it. I have been nothing but transparent with these people since we got here. But if you think you would do a better job go ahead.”

“Uuuuh… Phil I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Will chimed in. Schlatt’s eyes flicked to Wilbur.

“And why is that Big Man?” His voice taunted.

“Schlatt, you’re a fucking drunk, the only reason you’re not plastered right now is because our inventory on liquor is low.” Wilbur motioned at Schlatt his voice calm and collected but Phil knew Will was absolutely livid at the accusations thrown at Phil. “Phil, will actually keep us afloat, whereas you would crash us into the ground.”

“We will see about that.” Schlatt gave him a smirk as he stepped down, his arm bumping Will’s. Phil let out a shaky sigh as Schlatt disappeared into the dispersing crowd. Some people looked at him, disgust written all over their faces. Phil felt a hand slide down his wrist and take ahold of his good hand. Kristin leaned on him, letting him know she was there for him. That’s all he wanted in this life. He wanted his family, staying by his side. His eyes scan over Tommy and Will. Even Techno was on that list, he didn’t need to be blood to be his brother.

“Let’s go home,” Phil lightly put his hand on Wilbur’s shoulder, guiding all three of his family back to his and Kristin’s home. He ignored the stares he had gotten from people. He needed to think things through. But now Schlatt had put him in a bind. Things were just going to get harder from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a [Tumblr!](https://aressss1.tumblr.com/) Come say hi!


	8. Chapter 8

Techno and Ranboo were hard at work on the mine to the library in the stronghold. It had been two weeks since you had requested Techno to come help you out of your panic. When the two of you talked more on the subject, you were careful with your words. He could tell you weren’t trying to offend him when it came to Phil, but Techno picked up on your fear of Philza almost immediately. He wanted you to be comfortable around Phil, but that was obviously going to need some time.

Even so, when Phil expressed that he wanted to apologize formally, Techno had shaken his head, saying it wasn’t the right time yet. Techno didn’t need to say anything else for Phil to get it. Though he still had a sad look in his eyes. The both of them had seen wars, and what they do to people. They had seen what can throw those people over the edge, and sometimes it wasn’t the war, but the aftermath when the war was branded into their minds. They wouldn’t push you, not until you were ready.

Ranboo had a satchel attached to his side, and every once in a while, Techno would watch him fiddle with it when the bag had gotten in his way. Raising his eyebrow, Techno said nothing, only kept swinging away with his pickaxe. He listened to Ranboo talk, easily throwing his thoughts in here and there. Ranboo was extremely easy to get along with. For that, Techno was grateful.

“Let me just check our coords.” Ranboo pulled the flap of the satchel up searching around the bag. The thing that caught Techno’s attention was the rough texture of the black egg sitting inside the satchel.

“Uhhhh, Ranboo?” Techno set the end of the pickaxe down and let some of his weight rest on the handle. “Why are you carrying the egg around?” Ranboo stopped, he nervously grinned, gauging Techno’s reaction.

“Well, um… You see…” Ranboo fumbled over his words. “This egg,” he hesitated, “likes to follow me?” The piglin hybrid cocked his head to the side, his golden eyes showing confusion. 

“Alright, I believe it.” Techno used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat beading on his forehead away. “You’re always finding out something weird about yourself, so this isn’t really that surprising.” Ranboo’s tail swished behind him, and he visibly relaxed.

“Wanna see?” Ranboo asked looking eager. “I haven’t been able to show Phil yet, he’s been too busy.”

Techno nodded, his eyes watching as Ranboo placed the egg down on the ground and went to walk away from the egg. It didn’t take too long before the sound of an enderman teleporting ripped its way through the strip mine, echoing off the walls. There sitting before Ranboo was the egg. Ranboo’s eyes twinkled as he looked back toward Techno. He carefully picked the egg up from the ground, stowing it back into his satchel. The action made Techno chuckle.

“Ranboo, you remind me of one of those parents who carries their baby in a harness strapped to their chest.” Techno snickered.

“What can I say, parenthood has snuck up on me.” Ranboo laughed with Techno. It wasn’t too long before they were back at work on the tunnel. They weren’t even halfway to the strong hold. It was going to take a while before they were going to be there. Especially since Phil wanted the library under wraps. They didn’t need anyone trying to sabotage anything. 

Techno let his mind wander back to you, the way you felt in his arms, your scent. Everything about you was alluring to him and he couldn’t understand it. But… He also saw the way you looked at Dream, he heard your giggles to Dreams jokes. He could pretend he didn’t see the light touches the two of you would share. He set his jaw, putting more into his swings of his pickaxe. This had to be some cruel joke on him. 

He rarely liked the company of others, always telling himself to be more social when people were around. Some even snubbed him when he tried. There were a few people that were good to him, he couldn’t deny that. He was fine being alone. 

Techno still lost in his thoughts, kept going, hitting harder and harder with his pickaxe. Ranboo was now looking over at him curiously, the sight making him worry for Techno. He didn’t know how to even approach it. Techno kept mining forward, his breathing becoming labored. He only stopped when his pickaxe had broken, crumbling in his hands. He stood there for just a second heavily breathing, his hands clenched. Why was he so tense? 

“You alright, Tech?” Ranboo leaned in beside Techno. Techno wiped the sweat from his face, his mind flashing to you, your face twisted like the others when they saw him. He hated it. If Dream had his way that’s how it would be. Maybe it was time to put his violent ways to rest? The voices be damned. He didn’t want you to see him as a monster. There was no need to fight anymore, he wanted to settle down.

\--

Phil grinned at his invention for the ever-growing residential area of The Burrow. His arm was all healed up, after many persuaded him to take a health potion from the doctor. This left him able to do his projects. He had installed multiple elevators so that the people building their houses up high could easily reach ground level. His hands rested on his hips triumphantly as he watched some children playing with the elevators, with their parents watching. Phil tested his invention out one last time, going to the very top of the cavern that was eye level with some of the glowstone hanging down. His elytra hung from his shoulders like a cape.  
This was something that he had been wanting to do for a while. He climbed over the railing of the landing that led into people’s homes.

He allowed himself to look at the ground, his hands grasping the railing. It was a long way down but having flown across a void this was nothing to him. He let himself fall forward, feeling his fingers slip away from the railing, he fell, and he glided through the cavern toward the beacon on the other end. The wind on his face, the excitement in his chest, his emotions were heightened. He let out a triumphant laugh, as the structures around him started whizzing by. People were cheering for him as he zipped past them.

When he had gotten to the beacon, he let his feet touch down, the adrenaline still pumping. What he wouldn’t give to find a gigantic cave and fly through it. This cavern was only a taste of it. But cavern’s like that were rare. His eyes scanned the area of people busy at work. 

His eyes landed on the newest addition of the cave; a hospital carved into the wall right next to where the old med bay had been just two weeks prior. Wilbur was put in charge of the building plans for this, and it turned out beautiful. It was mostly made of quartz from the nether, and it was nicely accentuated with bricks. The inside was very nice as well, with plenty of room for everyone who needed care. A voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Ey Philza! Big man!” Schlatt approached Phil. “How ya been?” The goat hybrid stopped a few feet away from him. He was acting like he hadn’t called Phil out two weeks ago. “I had something I wanted to talk to ya about.” Phil sighed in irritation. 

Before two weeks ago he hadn’t minded Schlatt, now he was just a pain, because people were still treating Phil as a traitor, and those that spewed that hate usually expressed how they wanted Schlatt as the head of The Burrow. Phil would gladly step down, but he never received any official answer from Schlatt. Phil didn’t want the stress, but he was thrust upon this role, he would take the role until someone else wanted to step in. He kind of hoped it would be Schlatt.

“So,” Schlatt grinned at Phil. “I’ve been noticing people’s morale around here is plummeting and I am here to talk business.” He clapped his hands together. “So… I propose, a sort of… arena.” He stood up straight his arms fall behind his back. “We need some sort of entertainment, so why not let people beat the shit out of other people for the amusement of others.” Phil gave him a dead pan look.

“An… Arena?” Phil sighed. “I do have my concerns Schlatt,” Phil looked at Schlatt uneasily.

“Oh, I know you do, Phil. That’s why I’m here to tell you… That there will be rules, to abide by, legal forms and all that.” He waved his hand at the mention of the legalities. “This could really be the start we need for the economy.” Schlatt’s goat eyes peered down at Phil almost expectantly.

“Economy?” Phil felt his face twist up in confusion. “What are you on about Schlatt?”

“Well, you see Philza. I’m glad you asked because I have a shiny new currency, just ready to be used.” He fished around his pocket, pulling a gold coin engraved with an s out. “Introducing, the Schlatt coin!” He gave Phil a huge smile. Phil quirked up an eyebrow at him. 

“Sounds like a waste of gold mate.” Phil crossed his arms and shrugged. “Emeralds are a good currency to use.” Phil’s words caused Schlatt’s smile to falter. Phil inwardly sighed, would he really give this man leadership if he asked for it? Maybe… But he was scared that Schlatt would use up resources for meaningless things like the Schlatt coin. “I’ll tell you what Schlatt, you can run your arena. You can allow gambling, you can sell Schlatt coins for gambling purposes, but outside your arena they are worthless.”

“So, what you’re sayin’ is my Schlatt coins are nothing more than poker chips.” Schlatt gave a grimace pocketing his coin.

“Take the deal or not. Emeralds have higher value than gold.” Schlatt pondered over his words. “Not to mention it wouldn’t be hard to fake a Schlatt coin. There’s so much gold in the nether.” Schlatt rubbed his chin, pondering.

“Alright Phil, you do have some good points. This might also allow me to expand into other business ventures.” Schlatt had his smile back on. “Did you know I always wanted to be a landlord?” Phil shook his head. The conversation went on, about Schlatt’s wants in life. This conversation revealed more of Schlatt as a person, than of the businessman. Schlatt was about to turn and walk away when he stopped and faced toward Phil once more. “Ey, tell Technoblade, that if he wants to come fight in The Pit, I would be more than happy to make some money off of him.” With that he chuckled and walked away. 

Phil let out a sigh of relief. What an… Odd conversation. He couldn’t deny the people needed somewhere to let their frustrations out, whether it was actually fighting in the pit or gambling their money away. Having an economy would hopefully serve this place well. Services couldn’t be free forever, and trading when there was already lack of resources was proving hard.  
Phil started walking toward the new hospital to check on everything. He had a lot to think about, and hopefully this was a step in the right direction for everyone here.

\--

You had earned yourself a good gig working for Niki. She gave you a place to sleep, and she fed you well, in order for your services. This was the least you could do for her. You did not want to make someone feel as if you were using them. You wanted to give back. The last two weeks you had healed nicely, due to a health potion Niki had scrounged up for you. You were running deliveries out to people; they were mostly deliveries of rations to everyone around The Burrow. Techno enjoyed walking with you on your deliveries every night.

For whatever reason Techno was late today, he mentioned something about mining earlier. You shrugged it off when you didn’t see him waiting for you at Niki’s door. Making your way to the small cart that Dream had made for you, you start loading it up with the boxes of food Niki had prepared. You lingered for a second, your eyes scanning the area for Techno. Disappointment set in when you didn’t see your friend, biting the inside of your cheek you sigh. You really enjoyed walking with him.

“Want some help tonight?” You recognized Dream’s voice; he had approached you while you were checking the wheels on the cart. A smile pulled at your lips at the sight of him. 

“Sure, thanks Dream.” Well at least you had a friend with you during tonight’s delivery run. “I appreciate it!”

“Heh,” Dream chuckled, “It’s not a problem at all. You shouldn’t be pulling carts by yourself anyway.” His fingers lightly grazed your cheek. “How are you feeling?” His voice soothed your soul.

“I’m alright,” You subconsciously leaned into his touch, feeling your heart flutter. “It feels good to be doing things again.” You let out a sigh of content. This cave was beautiful in comparison to the unfinished room you currently slept in. Techno was slowly but surely working to add a second story to the bakery, and to finish off what needed to be done in the main bakery. The second story would serve as Niki’s home. 

“I bet,” Dream hummed, “I’m just glad you’re okay.” The two of you talked, as you started your route. People were starting to get used to seeing you, and you pretended not to notice how they would look at Techno when he towered over them. You could smell their fear, you wished they could see the being that Techno was to you. It was a different story when Dream was with you. People greeted you more as well as Dream, people didn’t act scared of Dream like they did with Techno. The thought made you sad.

You and Dream had just gotten done with the residential part of your route, on your way back to the bakery to collect more food from Niki. Your eyes looked around at everyone’s houses most of them were in the walls of the cave, but some were log cabins adorning the makeshift streets. What caught your attention, was a blank cave wall, ready to be mined out and built in. You stopped and looked at the wall.

“You want a house of your own?” Dream asked as he peered back at you when you stopped. You bit your lip and nodded. Having your own space would be amazing. “We can do that for you.” Dream slapped a hand on your shoulder, pulling you close, you could feel the heat from his body. “Command me to move the world, and I will do it for you.” You could see his smile behind his mask.

“Cheesy.” You let out a laugh. He laughed with you, his grip tightening on your shoulder.

“I know you like it.” He teased, “But seriously Y/N, Sapnap and I can help you with your house. I’d say George too… But… I can almost guarantee that he’ll be off sleeping somewhere.” 

“Well at least you know your friend well enough,” You giggled. Dream sighed happily at your laughter. He let go of your shoulder, and you found yourself missing his touch. He returned to his earlier position pulling the cart.

“We should get back and do the rest of the route.” You could hear the smile in his voice, and you nodded walking by his side. Your chest felt warm having him by your side. You hadn’t felt anything like this in a very long time. You dared to let your hand pull the cart with him, he only chuckled and you felt the weight of his hand on yours the rest of the trip back to Niki’s bakery. 

You still missed Techno, but you had failed to see him when you were immersed in conversation with Dream. Techno saw Dream’s hand on yours and he saw how happy you were talking with him; he couldn’t bring himself to do or say anything. He just stumbled back and gained his composure, his eyes flicked from you to Dream. He couldn’t ignore your smile, the way you laughed. He shook his head and headed back to Phil’s house.

Maybe you were better off with Dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ey! Come say hi! Here's my [Tumblr!](https://aressss1.tumblr.com/)


	9. Chapter 9

You were sitting on the porch staring off into space, your chin resting in your hand. You were thoroughly bored. You couldn’t even read your old books. You didn’t have any chance to grab any of your things, you were thankful you hadn’t gotten a dog or a cat after you had moved into your house. Though you wished you could go back and get some of your belongings. Dream had offered up to help you get through the snow, to get some of the things that you missed. You shook your head when he said that.

You had no idea what the surface looked like up there, but people had come back with stories about how the snow was as tall as they were. You shuddered at the thought. You loved feeling the sun shine down on you, on days that you would read outside… It was weird to think that you wouldn’t feel that ever again. Depressing thoughts crept up on you, and as you tried pushing those thoughts away, you felt your mood plummet. Just as you let out a sigh, a familiar sight of a red cloak entered your vision, and you felt yourself perk up.

“Techno!” You waved at him. He seemed to be focused on something. Maybe he hadn’t heard you. You shrugged it off as that anyway. Not wanting to sit and sulk any longer, you push yourself to your feet. Your pace quickened the closer you got to Techno. But you didn’t know the area as well as you should have, you tripped on a small piece of stone that jutted up from the ground. You gave a little yelp and watched as the ground came closer and closer. You closed your eyes waiting for impact.

“What are you doing?” His voice rang through your ears. The impact never came. Opening your eyes, you were mere inches away from the stone ground. His arm had snaked around you, mid fall, saving you once again. “I can’t leave you anywhere without you getting into trouble.” Though the words were meant to tease you, you could hear the grumpiness in his voice. You liked that you were starting to pick up on things you didn’t normally pick up on when he was still new to you.

“Why are you so grumpy today?” Your eyes narrowed at him, as he set you upright with a huff. “More importantly where were you yesterday? I waited as long as I could for you.” You saw something flash in his eyes, but he quickly looked away. 

“I was mining,” he muttered, “lost track of time.” He kept walking leaving you where you stood. You huff in annoyance.

“Can I come with you this time?” You asked. Only receiving nothing but a grunt from him. “You know, to make up for lost time?” This felt similar to your past partner, who you begged to be with for any amount of time, only for them to tell you that you were needy and that you couldn’t do anything on your own… You didn’t like that feeling. You knew Techno wasn’t like that. So… Why did it hurt so much?

He stopped dead in his tracks. His golden eyes turning to study your face. He didn’t say anything, just jerked his head in the direction he was walking in. You took that as permission, and you fell into stride with him as he slowed himself down. You two fell into silence, your stomach twisted and turned with anxiety. You didn’t want to lose Techno as a friend, so why did it feel as if you were losing him?

“What did I do?” You tried so hard to keep your composure, but Techno heard that crack in your voice… And it pained him.

“Nothing,” His voice came out with a sigh, “I’ve been thinking,” Oh god… your chest tightened. Those were the words that came before disaster in your life. Your ex used those words on you before leaving you, telling you how useless you really were. Grinding your teeth, you listened to him speak. “No one around here wants me around.” His voice was even, and you were still panicking. “I think I should just pack up and leave, in a few days when Phil doesn’t need me, when the mine is done.”

“W-why?” Your squeak, making him look you fully in the face from behind his mask.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the looks I get around The Burrow.” His hand absentmindedly rested on the handle of the pickaxe hanging off his belt. “I think it would be better for yours and Phil’s image if I just leave.” Your chest was tense, and your anxiety eased a tiny bit but… You didn’t want him to leave…

“Our image?” You raised your eyebrows. “Techno who the fuck cares about images?” You heard him chuckle.

“Well, a lot of people do,” you could hear a smile come through his words, “I’m the big scary Blood God, here to kill all of you.” He motions wildly with his arms dramatically leering at you. He makes you laugh. His heart soars at your laughter.

“You’re not scary,” you catch his hand in the air. Noticing the air shift around you, you look around and you were now in front of a small strip mine sort of hidden away in The Burrow. Your eyes flick back to his hand. “I know you’re not exactly human, but that’s not a bad thing.” Your fingers on your left-hand lace through his, and your right hand was left caressing his arm making its way up behind his skull mask. You lightly touch his down pointed ears, running your fingers over the golden earrings he wore, causing a shudder from him. You giggle. “You have both parts human and… They’re called piglins right?” He nodded his eyes fully entranced by you.

“I’ve never been to the nether,” you confess. “And while I have never seen a piglin… Never seen how they are… You have shown me nothing but kindness, saved me many times in many ways.” Your hand runs to the back of his neck feeling past scars, lingering there for just a second. “Human’s never showed me any of that.” Your hand drops to his chest where you could feel his heart thrumming below your fingers. “Your heart beats like a human’s, and I bet you don’t love like a human.” He cocks his head at your statement. “I’ve seen your devotion, to Phil. I bet when you find someone or something to love it’s stronger than what a human can handle.” You give him a smile. “If you can love Phil that deeply, like a brother, I-I want to meet him.”

“You want to meet Phil?” He seemed baffled. Remembering how you requested that he bring Phil and Kristin their rations because you were still scared of Phil. You nodded keeping your eyes down.

“I don’t care about image, Techno,” You didn’t allow him to derail the topic at hand. “I’m not going to stop you if it’s truly what you want, but… please don’t leave…” There you were begging someone not to leave your life again. You felt pathetic. You felt his hand tip your chin up as tears welled up in your eyes.

“For you,” he leveled with you, “I’ll stay.” What he really meant was… ‘I’ll follow you to the deepest depths of the earth.’ His hand still intertwined with yours he pulled you to his chest and he gave you a tight hug, his whole body enveloped you and you held on tightly to him. You didn’t feel so alone with him there, and your heart thudded in your chest. You were starting to develop feelings for this hybrid… The realization hit you like a ton of bricks, while he let his jaw rest on the top of your head.

“You’ve never seen the nether?” He questioned you, and you nodded into his chest, just relishing the feel of his hands rubbing your back. “I promise I’ll take you there,” You pulled back from him, excitement rising in your chest. 

“Really?” You bounced on your heels, gripping his shirt. He couldn’t help but chuckle at your reaction. 

“Just give me some time to get a set of armor prepared for you.” He stepped away from your excited form. 

“Deal!” You nodded to him. He held the iron door open for you as you both entered the mineshaft, unknowing that certain eyes were watching from a far. 

~~

You were in that strip mine almost all day with Techno, and as much as you loved mining and talking with him. You were tired, well… That is… until Techno broke through into a cave of sorts. You had found a second wind.

“Huh…” He cleared out the stone in front of him. “We found ourselves a mineshaft.” He ducked below low hanging stone and walked through onto wood. “Have you seen one of these?” 

“Can’t say I have…” You shook your head following him into the mineshaft. “I always bought the things I needed; I never really went exploring for things.” You lingered close to him. The two of you walk through the halls of the mineshaft. He had to duck his head to not hit his head on the wood of the support beams keeping the walls and ceiling supported.

“You know where these places came from?” He craned his neck to look down at you through his mask. When you shook your head, he continued. You felt yourself lean closer into him as you listened to him. The interest on your face, brought a blush to Technoblade’s cheeks not that you could see it from behind the mask.

“They say in the times of old before any of us walked this earth, the inhabitants of this land, ruled over everything peacefully. This world used to have more people, who were probably just like us. Some say that they had better technology, others would say that their lands were barren and the world, as we knew it, wasn’t like this. Savannahs, deserts, swamps, you name it… They weren’t a thing back then… Or so they say. The only thing that was constant was grass and cobblestone. Some even say there weren’t even any trees in the beginning.” You bite your lip trying to process what he was saying. It was hard to imagine. You heard his chuckle.

“Things rapidly changed, and the people of this world thrived. Building these mineshafts, desert temples, ocean monuments, and jungle temples. People formed villages, and as time would go on, the land would change so much so that the villagers sometimes would be stuck in their homes buried under dirt, with no way to get out, until someone with the capabilities to help did.” Techno took a second to breathe and to see if you were still listening, and you were wholeheartedly listening to every single word, you practically hung on his arm. “The ocean floor used to be nothing but gravel, and the oceans housed very little fish.”

“What happened to that world?” You eagerly asked your hand tightening on his arm. You could see a devilish grin spread upon his face.

“Well, you see…” He turns and slowly backs you up to the stone wall, his eyes flooding black and his irises turning silver, the sight making you shudder. “There’s a legend, that a mighty being named Herobrine walked these lands, wreaking havoc on any who crossed his path. Many saw a face with shining white eyes staring back at them, in mineshafts… Much like this one.” His face was inches away from yours “Hiding around the corners that ended up being dead ends with no place for him to go.” You felt goosebumps rise on your arms at his words. “Making tunnels that weren’t there previously before, using Redstone torches to lead you to your demise.”

You felt his hot breath on your skin. His closeness was almost too much for you to handle. You were having trouble listening to his words, and to top it off his hand rested on the wall next to your head. You tried not showing how flustered you were.

“People theorize that he was the one changing the world to his liking. They also theorized that he was the one to wipe everyone out.” Techno’s eyes flash almost in a predatory manner. “Who knows… Maybe he’s… watching us right now.” Before you could react, he lets out a playful roar and picks you up as he spins you in the air and you let out a scream in surprise. His laughter calms you down almost immediately and you give him a playful glare. 

“How dare you Techno.” You grumble out, still in his arms. 

“You make it too easy.” He was still laughing as he set you down onto the ground. Letting you regain your composure.

“Do you think that’s what really happened?” You ask after a second of thinking over his words.

“No… I don’t, but I don’t think the people were killed when they disappeared…” He shrugs “People have their stories, but… I found a book, an incredibly old book, and it has more than one author.” You look at him questioningly. “As I told you, the world was barren, and it was mentioned in this book. But as the book fell into different hands, pages were added, and they recorded the changes of the world. The book would find someone else, and it would be passed down. It found me in my travels and once I am at my end in this world, I will leave it for someone else to add more pages.” After a few moments getting back on track he continues.

“The book described people disappearing and people appearing almost out of thin air, and they claimed they had been in other worlds. I honestly think that whatever happened… People were just moved to a different world. Scattering everyone to different places, and this world was mostly abandoned by the old inhabitants.” He looked down in thought. “But that book also spoke of another possibility. Have you heard the music disk titled ['11'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLf9lfbI5Kg)?” 

“That creepy recording?” You had a copy of it in your old home, you had kept it because it was one of the rarer music disks. It was something that you had found just randomly on the ground one day in your old village. He nodded.

“That’s the one…” He sighed. “I don’t think that that disk was a fake recording meant to just scare people…” He let his words sink in and you shuddered. “Whatever was chasing the person recording, could very well be the cause of everyone disappearing from this world.” You were having a hard time wrapping your head around it all. “I think that’s where the legend of Herobrine was started.”

He gave you the time you needed to think about everything, you watch as he mined the nearby materials. The both of you rounded a corner and there sitting in a minecart was a chest. You heard Techno chuckle feeling his hand on the small of your back, he pushes you toward the box. 

“It’s all yours, darlin’,” He felt his breath catch in his throat, and you felt butterflies take flight in your stomach just by hearing the nickname. He definitely didn’t mean to call you that, and it was just a slip of a tongue, and he wasn’t sure if he had offended you with the nickname. Though judging by your red face, maybe you had liked the name. He didn’t know he was just thankful for the mask obscuring his own blush. Clearing his throat, he looks away as if nothing happened. He nudged you toward the chest.

When you open the chest, your eyes widen. Inside, were a few seeds which were going to come in handy, some bones, and some rails sitting at the bottom of the chest. But what really caught your attention, was an enchanted book, a name tag and a golden apple. You grabbed everything you could and flipped through the enchanted books pages. It was in a language you didn’t know how to speak or write. Looking up at Techno, he takes the book from your hands. 

“Fire Protection III,” He chuckled reading it out for you. “This will help a lot when I make the armor for you, for when I show you the nether.” He beamed handing the book back to you. You gave him a smile at the thought of another adventure with Techno. It was funny, the world was so screwed up, but this hybrid had managed to show you more of it than you ever had seen in your entire life in just a short amount of time. You were excited to see the other things he had in store for you.

You had even found your first set of diamonds in this mineshaft, Techno insisted that you keep these too as well as the other treasure the two of you had found. By the time you two had found the entrance to the mineshaft you were spent, and you were so happy to be on the way back to Niki’s.

“I still can’t wait for you to meet Phil,” Techno grinned, and you gave a happy sigh, loving his smile. “There’s a reason he’s the leader of The Burrow, and that’s because he’s like the resident dad. There’s a lot of people who respect him.”

“Well…” You couldn’t believe you were about to say this. “We could go visit him, now if you want?” There was a small part of you that wanted him to say no, but you knew that wasn’t a possibility with the way he genuinely smiled at you.

“If that is what you’re comfortable with.” His eyes searched for any doubt in your eyes. Your hand gently reached for his when you nodded.

“I’m ready.”

\--

“Schlatt, I need a favor.” Dream sat across from Schlatt in Schlatt’s newly formed office. The sight he saw in front of that mineshaft making his blood boil. He wasn’t worried though he had a plan, and that’s why when he saw you hug Techno, he came straight to Schlatt. 

The construction loud outside the room. Schlatt had many workers working on his arena, and it was impossible to drown the sounds out. Schlatt’s desk sat in front of an angled thick window that gave him the perfect view of the huge arena. The office was the only thing that had been finished out of the whole arena, and it was impressive looking complete with fancy looking potted plants.

“What can I do for ya bud?” Dream had no idea where Schlatt had come across a cigar or if he was saving them but Schlatt let the lit cigar hang from his mouth, taking drags off of it when he saw fit.

“I want to fight Technoblade.” The words hung the air, and they brought a smile to Schlatt’s face. The plans already working through the gears in his mind. 

“I see.” Schlatt chewed on the end of the cigar. “What are we thinking? You want it to be a fair fight?” Puff of smoke emitted from his lips as he spoke. He laced his hands together setting his elbows on his desk so he could rest his chin on his interlaced fingers. 

“Whatever gives the best show.” Dream smiled from behind his mask. “The details can be worked out in the wash. I just need you… To get Technoblade to agree to a fight with me.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

\--

You waited outside Phil’s house apprehensively. Your jaw started to hurt; it was then when you noticed that you were clenching your teeth. You rubbed your jaw hoping to find relief for the pain. Techno had gone in to explain the situation to Phil. You let your eyes wander; this was the area of the residential district you wanted to have your house in. In fact, the wall you had looked at before with Dream, had been across the way on the other side of the cavern. 

When you looked over at the wall once again… You could see Dream and his friend, Sapnap working, they were mining out the area you had wanted to claim. When you remembered Dream wanted to help you build your house, the thought made you smile. Dream was always so nice to you. You weren’t sure if they had seen you, but you leaned over the railing, opening your mouth to say hi to Dream. But you were quickly interrupted by the door opening behind you. 

Well… At least Dream was able to distract you from the anxiety that now pooled in your stomach for at least a little bit. You stepped away from the railing and turn back to Phil’s door. Techno’s eyes searched your face.

“Ready?” He held his hand out for you to take. “You can leave at any time. Phil knows not to push you.” You swallowed down your courage and nodded, slipping your hand into his. He led you into the house. The house was normal, nicely built and decorated. It was weird associating this sort of house with someone who had almost killed you. But Phil wasn’t a bad guy, or so everyone told you. Techno led you through the main room into the kitchen which led into a dining room.

There sitting at the head of the table was Phil. He was just a normal guy, but that still hadn’t helped your anxiety. You still had nightmares about his blade piercing your flesh. You needed to get over this, for yourself… Not for anyone else, not for Techno… You.

“Hello.” Phil drew out the word, looking up from below a green and white bucket hat sitting on his head. He stood his eyes locked on you, and you felt your grip tighten on Techno. Techno rubbed circles over your hand in a comforting manner. Phil waited for you with patient and kind eyes, he noted the way you clung to Techno, and how Techno responded. He couldn’t help the warm smile emerging on his lips. 

“I-I uh…” You sputtered out, your cheeks reddening. Why was this so hard to do? The words were in your mind, but your mouth turned them into jelly. You took a second letting out a calming breath. “Techno says nothing but nice things about you.” You started off. Phil motioned for all of you to sit, and you do tentatively.

“I can say the same about you.” He was careful with his words. “First off… I just want to say, I’m sorry for everything.” His eyes lower to the table, his hat obscuring his face. “If there is one thing that is important to me it’s my family.” He started, his eyes rising to meet yours. “I have Kristin, my boys and Techno.” He motioned to Techno, who had been watching your reactions. “And when I found you in Techno’s house… I thought the worst. I thought you had taken a part of my family. And when we spoke… I- well… I wasn’t going to let you take me away from Kristin and my boys. I was overzealous, and I am willing to do anything in my power to make it up to you.”

You let a shaky breath out. Processing this information. You couldn’t blame him, but that still didn’t take the trauma away from you. Feeling Techno squeeze your hand as if to encourage you, you looked up into his eyes. Yeah… Just in the few weeks that you had known Techno you could say you would kill for him. You thought back on what he did to Phil when he had found the both of you in his house. You were pretty sure, if it wasn’t Phil Techno would have already killed him.

“I’m sorry too.” Your voice was barely just above a whisper, “I forgive you Philza,” and you did. All of that could have been avoided, had you two just sat and talked it out, though that could be said for a lot of situations like that. You didn’t have any family in your life, and you couldn’t blame someone for protecting their own family. For your own peace of mind, you forgave him. 

“How’s the shoulder? Any pain?” He leaned forward his eyes scanning over your shoulder, worry lining his features. You shook your head.

“I have some good nurses.” Squeezing Techno’s hand, you chuckled. 

“Techno does know a lot about keeping someone alive.” Phil added in, memories that were mysteries to you flashing behind his eyes. “I’d love to have you over for dinner with the family sometime so you can get acquainted with my little family. I know they have been curious about you too.” Feeling a smile pull at your lips you nodded. 

“I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a [Tumblr!](https://aressss1.tumblr.com/) Come say hi!


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